


The Silver-eyed Snake

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Sexual Assault, Because she's everyone's little sis, Faunus!Ruby Rose, Gen, Good Big Sister Yang, Jaunedice/Forever Falls Arc, Pairings May Change/Expand, RWBY au, Ruby Rose is a Faunus, Ruby and literally everyone brotp, Snake Faunus, Snake Faunus Ruby, Suicidal Thoughts, Tags May Change, Team as Family, The writing gets better just bear with me, Volume 1 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After the death of Summer Rose, a young faunus by the name of Ruby will carry the burden of her mother's legacy. But first, she needs to learn how to show her scales.[On temporary hiatus]





	1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A typical Faunus!Ruby fic. Except it's not that typical because Ruby isn't a wolf faunus for once.¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Pairings undecided, though I plan on having being Whiterose as the main pairing with background Arkos and Renora. I'll try to update frequently, if irregularly.
> 
> Edit: There probably won’t be any pairings at this point aside from VERRYYY minor established Rennora.

Ruby would always look at the other kids and wish she could be like them. But she knew she would never fit in. The other kids didn't almost choke to death trying to swallow their food whole. The other kids didn't have big, round, silver eyes with slitted pupils that seemed to bore into your soul. The other kids didn't have a creepy, forked tongue and huge, venomous fangs that folded back when they closed their mouths. They didn't have green scales across each of their forearms.

Eventually, she decided she didn't wanna be like the other kids. The other kids were mean. They called her names like 'Weirdo!' and 'Creep,' along with a few other flattering nicknames. 'Scaley' was one of her least favorites. Ruby wanted to be like Yang instead! Yang was her super cool older sister who protected her from the other kids. She was really strong, too! Ruby's dad told Yang at dinner once that she should become a huntress one day, since she was always protecting her baby sister. When Ruby asked what a huntress was, her dad told her that hunters fought Grimm and protected people from evil. That was when Ruby decided she wanted to be a huntress when she grew up, and her family cheered and supported her.

Ruby's parents were really nice. They would always tell her that there wasn't anything wrong with her-that she's still part of their family even if she looks different from them. Yang comforted her on her worst nights and scared away the bullies. Still, Ruby wasn't stupid. She always knew she was the odd one in the family. Despite sharing her eye and hair color with her mother, Summer Rose, they somehow looked nothing alike. Her mother was human, just like Yang and her dad. They weren't freaks who managed to draw stares everywhere they went. Her parents brushed off Ruby's concerns when she asked why she looked different and Yang didn't know either.

Despite everything, Ruby had a loving family who accepted her, despite all of her oddities and treated her as if she was no different from them. She was happy with herself and the mean kids couldn't change that.

Then, everything fell apart. Her mom had just been called to go away on a mission. When Ruby cried and begged her to stay, her mom promised that they would make cookies together when she came back home. That cheered Ruby up quickly, much to her mother's amusement. Ruby had waited, and waited, and waited. Days, weeks, months passed. She had been waiting patiently just like her mom told her to. She wanted to make her mom proud, after all.

One night, Yang had been reading a bedtime story to Ruby when they were interrupted by their father shouting from downstairs. They went downstairs together to find out what was happening. Their father was with two other men, one of which had quills piercing through his uniform. Ruby almost let out a startled gasp at this and would have if Yang hadn't covered her mouth with her hand.

Their father was yelling at the two men for whatever reason.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CANT KEEP UP THE INVESTIGATION?" Taiyang roared. Their Dad was clearly furious, his blonde locks glowing like wildfire. And when she looked closer, Ruby could see his broad shoulders trembling with horror.

"Sir, please," the quilled officer responded. "Summer Rose has been missing for almost a year. She's almost certainly dead by now."

Ruby swore she felt her heart stop right then. She was pretty young, but even at her youthful age she knew what death meant. When someone died, their aura faded away and they never came back. Tears began flowing freely from Ruby's eyes and and she let out a nearly silent whine.

A comforting warmth quickly wrapped around her, picking her up and bringing her to the shared bedroom as she sobbed helplessly. The shouting from their father continued minutes after the sisters had gone to their room. Ruby had continued to cry freely for an hour, trembling as she held onto her elder sister. "Mommy can't be gone..." she said through her rapidly flowing tears. "She promised she would come back and make cookies with me..." Eventually, her loud bawling became soft whimpers and she stopped shaking. Her sister pulled away and looked her straight into her reptilian eyes.

"Ruby, promise me something." Yang said, grabbing the younger girl's shaky hands.

Ruby nodded without hesitation. "Anything."

"Promise me that we'll become huntresses together and find Mom ourselves, okay?" Yang asked with a determined shine in her violet eyes.

Ruby sniffled a bit, before smiling and nodding. "Yeah!" she gleefully yelled, pumping a scaly fist in the air. "We'll train super duper hard and become really strong! Then, we can find her and protect her so she doesn't get lost again!"

Yang giggled at the toddler's enthusiasm. "We sure will Ruby."

After that, Ruby decided to stay with her sister for the night. They held each other as they slept, both silently vowing to be there for one another.

Little did they know, the situation was a lot more complicated then they thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's never fun having to hide who you are. But that might just be what Ruby has to do to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks to everyone who left Kudos and comments! I mentioned this last chapter, but updates probably won't be every day. I don't know if I'll get a schedule for it. It's my first time doing a chapter fic, so it may take me some time to adjust. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Most people would take mistaking a tree for a beowolf as a sign to stop and take a break from whatever they were doing to question their life choices. Yang, however, took it as a reason to keep pushing forward. She had already gotten this far, she couldn't give up now.

Yang had found out about her birth mother about a week after Summer Rose was presumed dead. Her father had been drinking with Uncle Qrow again, and Yang managed to pry information from the two easily in their drunken state.

Her birth mother, Raven Branwen, had left her with her father after she was born, and they hadn't heard from her ever since. Yang asked anyone she could for information, and spent day and night digging up clues.

Eventually, Yang finally found a clue that could lead her to her mom. Yang had accidentally broken the frame of a photo in her search. The photo itself was clearly very old, judging by it's lack of color. The subject of the photo was the building that Yang was headed to now. She had waited for her Dad to leave the house, and headed out, pulling her baby sister behind her in a wagon.

Now, Yang could tell that her search was finally coming to an end. She had been walking for hours, taking in the silence of the rest as the island as she listened to the creaks of her sister's wagon. Ruby was wrapped in the red cloak her Mom had made for her, bundled up cozily. Yang was thankful that Ruby had found a way to stay warm. She was worried that the younger girl's sensitivity to extreme temperatures would get her sick.

When Yang had gone to look at her reflection in the river, she began to grow worried that she wasn't gonna make it. Her tanned skin was covered in bruises and scrapes, and one of her pigtails had come out during the trip. Her hair was matted and grimy. She could barely think straight, and dark circles formed around her eyes. Still, she wasn't going to take a break. She was almost there.

It had taken about 20 minutes for Yang to finally reach her destination. An old abandoned building stood before her, and she almost wept with joy. The girl's exhausted relief was cut short when she noticed the chilling, deadly red eyes staring back at her from inside the building. Yang couldn't fight them off. She couldn't run, couldn't scream. She stood helpless as the grimm crawled out, eyeing her and her sister with soulless bloodlust. Yang fell to her knees, waiting for the end.

But the end never came. Qrow's scythe sliced through the grimm, killing multiple each strike. The last thing Yang remembered before everything went black was agonizing howls followed by a scratchy, yet gentle voice that she couldn't immediately place.

"It's okay kiddos...I got you."

1 Year Later

The bullying got much worse. What began as the occasional jab at Ruby's eyes or fangs grew into death threats from the older kids. They called her a freak and told her she should have died with her mother. The worst part was, Yang wasn't there anymore. She was 6 now, and had already graduated from preschool. It began to wear Ruby down, and eventually she broke down. Ruby begged her dad for something that could cover her reptilian traits. Yang was against the idea, but eventually gave in after Ruby started shedding tears.

On Ruby's fourth birthday, her Dad gave her goggles that covered her eyes and the few scales under them, along with a pair of elbow-length fingerless gloves to cover the scales on her forearms. The goggles were black and sleek-looking, and had a fogged-up appearance that let her see perfectly while hiding her eyes from view. On the downside, they were a bit too loose and it wouldn't take much effort for someone to pull them off.

She asked her dad why the goggles were loose, and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I didn't want them to squeeze your head, so I loosened up a little bit," he told his daughter.

Ruby giggled and kissed her father's nose. She was glad he had been getting better lately. He seemed so lifeless after the search for her mother ended. For some reason, her promise to become a huntress someday and find Mom hadn't seemed to cheer him up much.

Ruby put on the gloves next. They went all the way up to her elbows and a little bit past. The coloring was mostly black, with a rose design on the back of the hands and a red trim. There were individual holes for each of her fingers, so while her scales were hidden, she could still move her fingers freely and comfortably.

Ruby had worn her presents 24/7 for weeks after she first got them. She drew less stares and the only people that still bullied her were the ones that already knew of her faunus heritage beforehand, which, outside her class, wasn't a lot since she didn't talk to others much. Ruby had already figured out what a faunus was by now. She had also figured out that they were discriminated against by humans, though she didn't understand why.

Though the goggles and gloves really helped Ruby hide her features from humans, there were still a few issues. First of all, Ruby couldn't talk or eat hard foods in public anymore. This was because her fangs folded out whenever she opened her mouth. There was also her habit of swallowing her food (especially cookies) whole rather than chewing it. This has led to quite a few near-death experiences, since although she could swallow smaller fruits like strawberries whole just fine, her (mostly) human body couldn't do the same with meats and hard food without choking.

During school and in public, Ruby had become almost silent, aside from small affirmative hums and squeaks when she was speaking to somebody. A lot of people even thought she was mute when they saw her. Despite this, she was completely different in front of her family. She would ramble about the stories Yang used to read her and gush about weapons and what her weapon was gonna be like when she made it.

She begged her Uncle Qrow to teach her how to fight monsters and be a huntress. He brushed her off every time, saying that she was too young and he could teach her when she got older. When Ruby turned 6, he finally agreed to start training her.

Currently, it's day 3 of Ruby's training and she's on her 197th lap around the house.

"Alright, alright kid. That's enough." Ruby was suddenly stopped by a yank on her hood.

"You told me to run 200 laps, though! I only ran 196!" Ruby looked at her Uncle like he had badmouthed every kind of cookie right in front of her. Well, besides oatmeal raisin. Uncle Qrow was allowed to badmouth oatmeal raisin cookies.

Qrow sighed. "Yeah, while I didn't expect you to do it in 10 minutes. That was almost 4 miles..."

Yang, who had already finished her training for the day, watched the pair. "Yeah, sis! That was like, huntress level fast!" she said, grinning widely.

Ruby rushed to her sister's side. "Really?" she asked, somehow managing to whisper and yell at the same time.

"Yep!"

"Yeah, full-grown huntress level. No six year old should be that fast." Qrow shook his head. "Are you even tired?"

Ruby thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, but I really like running. I feel so trapped having to wear my goggles and gloves all the time. When I run, I don't have to worry about all that. I can just be free!"

Qrow and Yang grinned at their youngest family member. Needless to say, nobody was surprised when Ruby found her semblance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, comments and criticism are appreciated! If I did something that doesn't flow well or make sense, please let me know. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake makes a decision, and Ruby just wanted to take a walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there. I know the chapter is a little later then promised, but the scene took a while to write.  
> It's basically the scene in the first episode with maybe a few things done differently (such as Ruby not speaking). Anyways, hope you enjoy. A new chapter should be out Sunday, with a small interlude before then! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

**"Your hopes have become my burden.**

**I will find my own liberation..."**

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep, deep down, Blake knew what Adam had become. She just didn't want to believe herself. But now, seeing him brush off the lives of people that had done nothing wrong, Blake knew she had to accept the truth. Adam wasn't the same seeker of justice and beacon of hope for the fauna that he had been when they were younger.

She watched as Adam, with his fully charged semblance, moved to strike the mech. A thought occurred to her in that moment. This was her chance. She could get away right now. She could save these crew members. No longer would she lay awake at night, wondering if she would have to kill the next day. No longer would she need to be associated with this twisted man. She could finally choose her own path. She just needed to take this first step.

The mech was destroyed with a single strike, fading into thousands of tiny red leaves. Red like the faunus blood spilled by the humans' hands. He turned around to look at his love, but...she was on the other train car.

When he reached his hand out towards her, she just looked him in the eye and pulled out Gambol Shroud.

"Goodbye."

Blake cut the line that connected them, and watched as Adam faded into nothing but a red speck.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**1 Year Later: July 18th**

  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Just yesterday, a train owned by the Schnee Dust Company never made it to the station. When sent to investigate, the police were shocked to discover that one some of the train cars had been separated from the others. As the investigation continued on, even more strange incidents were discovered. The train itself was no longer running, and the crew had been living off the food in the train for multiple days. The train had previously been guarded by a spider-droid, but now it's nowhere to be found. This attack is far to organized to just be Grimm. Though it hasn't been confirmed yet, we can only assume that this is the doing of the animals in the White Fa-" ___

__Yang abruptly shut the TV off and looked at her sister, eyes trailing to her little sister in concern. Ruby's goggles were off, and Yang could see the pain in her slitted eyes. In the past, Ruby had had a sort of hero-worship for the White Fang, and Yang had sat through several ramblings about how inspiring they were and how she wished she could join one day. It had broke her fragile little heart when Ghira Belladonna stepped down from his position as leader and the White Fang took a turn for the worst. It didn't exactly help that fauna were being treated even worse than before, many innocent people losing their jobs due to the acts of a single terrorist organization._ _

__"Ruby?"_ _

__"I'm gonna go for a walk."_ _

Ee

__"Ruby, it's dark out." Yang looked at her little sister, concern lacing her features._ _

__"I'll be fine," Ruby said, forcing a smile. "I'm a huntress-in-training, remember?"_ _

__Yang turned away and sighed. Whenever Ruby was upset, she either cried in her room or went on a walk to clear her mind. Though she preferred the latter, it was dark and Ruby usually took almost an hour to get back. "Fine, but don't be too long. I don't want you getting robbed or something." Ruby grinned, and gave her sister a big hug before heading out._ _

__\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

__"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?"_ _

__One of Junior's men pointed his pistol at the old shopowner. "Please, just take my lien and leave!" the old man replied, panicked._ _

__Torchwick shushed him. "Shshshshsh...calm down...we're not her for your money. Grab the dust."_ _

__The identical henchmen began collecting all the dust from the machines in the store, filling the containers they had with them. "Crystals. Burn. Uncut." The storeowner grabbed a burn crystal from under the counter._ _

__One of the suited mercenaries had been moving to fill a container with dust when he heard rock music playing from the back of the store. There was a kid standing there, maybe about 14? They looked to be reading a magazine about weapons. The man pulled out his weapon, a long red blade._ _

__"Alright kid, put your hands where I can see 'em."_ _

__The teenager ignored him, and his annoyance began to grow into anger. "Hey, I said hands in the air! You got a death wish or somethin'!?" the man said as he pulled down her hood, revealing a young girl wearing goggles and headphones. He motioned for her to take her headphones off, which she did with a small hum of acknowledgement._ _

__"I said, put your hands in the air, now!" the henchman said threateningly. The girl put one finger up, signaling him to hold on. She retrieved her scroll, and typed a quick message for him._ _

__'Are you robbing me?' he read. "Yes!"_ _

__Roman Torchwick was smoking a cigar, watching the shop owner grab crystals from underneath the counter. Suddenly, one of his men flew past him and a crash was heard from behind him. The other men went to deal with whoever had swiftly knocked out one of his mercenaries, WHO WERE REALLY FUCKIN' EXPENSIVE AND SHOULDN'T BE SCREWED OVER THIS EASILY._ _

__"Freeze!"_ _

__Another one of Junior's men was swiftly removed from the fight, being knocked out the window. Torchwick went to get a look at who this thorn in his side was, expecting a full-fledged hunter. A little girl stood on the street, scythe folding out behind her. What the fuck. The girl had dark brown hair with red tips, and goggles covered her eyes and the tops of her cheeks, but not her arrogant smirk. She was adorable, but Torchwick knew that didn't matter. Neo was adorable. Neo was also kind of a sociopath with crazy good combat skills. Still, at least her weapon fit her. It was a cute and innocent-looking umbrella, but also could be a deadly weapon. That wasn't the case with this girl. A gigantic metal scythe that was taller than two of Junior's men combined folded out behind her. She twirled it around her stylishly, then smashed the blade into the ground, simultaneously turning off her music player._ _

__"Okay..." Junior's men didn't move. "...get her!." he said, annoyance lacing his voice._ _

__The men collectively charged at the girl (pretty unprofessionally), and she quickly responded by loading a round into her gun-scythe and maneuvering around them, slashing and shooting and twirling and dodging through Junior's forces with ease._ _

__Torchwick watched all his guns-for-hire get their butts handed to them by a teenage girl. 'She slithered through those men like a God-damned snake...' he thought._ _

__"You were worth every cent...truly you were." The approaching police sirens became a lot more noticeable now that he was alone and, well, kind of screwed. Torchwick threw his cigar on the ground, crushing it with his cane. "Well Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around..." Torchwick raised his cane at the little red pest to reveal a rifle. "I'm afraid this is where we part ways." The criminal shot a blast out at the girl, who dodged over it by firing her gun at the floor, doing a backflip midair._ _

__When she landed, she took a look around, briefly sniffing the air with her tongue to find the criminal. She caught him climbing a ladder to the roof of a building nearby._ _

__Ruby shot a glance at the shopkeeper, and even through her goggles, he knew what she was asking. "I'll be okay," the old man said, giving her a grateful smile and nod. Ruby smiled back and quickly followed after him, shooting Crescent Rose at the ground to gain speed._ _

__As Torchwick attempted to make his escape, a loud hiss caught his attention. "Persistent..." he said darkly. As the girl looked on, a bullhead rose up into the two foes' view._ _

__Ruby's goggles protected her eyes from the light, but they wouldn't protect her from the dust crystal Torchwick had thrown at her. Unbeknownst to Ruby (due to her VERY limited perception of color) the dust crystal was a burn dust crystal._ _

__"End of the line, Red!" the ginger criminal yelled as he shot the crystal with his cane, causing a very noticeable explosion. When Ruby looked up, she her jaw almost dropped as she saw a woman standing over her, shielding her with a large, decorated glyph. Ruby slowly got up from the ground and watched the woman in awe._ _

__"Hm," the woman said calmly. Her jaw really did drop when she realized who was standing in front of her. The huntress shot out beams that hit and severely damaged the getaway bullhead._ _

__"We've got a huntress!" Torchwick yelled as his associate moved out of the pilot seat. Torchwick tried to steer them away, but the blonde huntress used another glyph above him, causing a thunderstorm. Torchwick felt the cold wind blow past him, and it was a miracle that his hat wasn't blown away. "The hell...?"_ _

__Ice crystals rained from the clouds, causing likely irreversible damage to the ship as his associate, a mysterious woman in a red dress, walked over to the open exit of the bullhead. She aimed a burst of fire at the blonde, which was quickly blocked and dodged. The huntress magically gathered pieces of the roof to create a large arrow shape, which she shot towards the bullhead. Her arrow was cleanly dissolved into shards, but reformed again to hit the side of the bullhead. The mysterious red woman shielded herself with glowing rings that destroyed the shards._ _

__Ruby finally got her act together, shooting her rifle at the woman, though all her shots were easily blocked. Flaming circles formed under the two women, and the huntress dragged Ruby out of the way, while doing a somersault of her own to avoid the attack. The blonde looked up to see the hatch close, and the bullhead drive away._ _

__An high-pitched squeal brought her attention to the younger girl, who started signing at her excitedly._ _

__'Can I have your autograph?' the child silently asked her, motioning wildly with her hands._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Lord. It took a long time to write a scene that doesn't even matter much because it's almost identical to the ones in the show. Still, whoopee! On the way to Beacon, finally! The interlude coming out tomorrow or Saturday will cover the scene where Ruby gets invited to Beacon, as well as Ruby sharing the news with her friends. After that, events will play out sort of the same way as they do in the show. Thanks for reading, see you next time!
> 
> Edit: 2/10/19  
> I know I said I'd have a new chapter out by today, but I'm having laptop issues so the chapter will be delayed for about a week. Sorry for this. :(


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby meets someone important and her life is changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the wait, I was having a lot of laptop issues that needed to be fixed! I'm back now, and I should have a longer chapter out pretty soon. For now though, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Ruby Rose was not having a good night. First there was that business with the Schnee Dust Company train, then she was attacked by a crime boss. After that she met a huntress, which was dope, but now said huntress was currently yelling at her in some kind of interrogation room. "I hope you realize your actions tonight will not be taken lightly young lady," the huntress, Glynda Goodwitch, scolded her. "You put yourself and others in great danger."

Ruby bit her tongue with her human teeth to hold back a childish remark. "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home..." Goodwitch continued, with a pat on the back..." Ruby perked up a little. "...and a slap on the wrist!" Ruby jumped back a little as the huntress brought down her riding crop to the table. "But, there's someone here who would like to meet you." Goodwitch moved out of the way to reveal an old man carrying a plate of cookies and a mug of coffee.

"Ruby Rose..."

Ruby looked up at him. "Why do you hide your eyes?" he asked.

A brief moment of panic overcame Ruby, but she looked at the man again. She recognized him. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, her dream school. Somehow Ruby knew she could trust him. Wordlessly, she pulled her goggles up to her forehead, revealing a pair of slitted silver eyes and the green scales right under them.

"Silver...an odd eye color for any sort of reptilian, no?"

"I'm not a reptile!" Ruby hissed, fangs folding out as she bared them at the professor. Goodwitch's hand went to her riding crop. Ruby couldn't believe this. She put her trust in this man whom she had admired since she was a kid and he called her an animal.

Ozpin raised a hand, signalling for her and Goodwitch to both settle down. "You misunderstand, Miss Rose. I did not mean to call you a reptile. I simply meant to refer to your eyes." Ohhh. Ruby looked at the ground in shame. "Since we know you can speak now, how about an apology to the headmaster?" Goodwitch snapped at her. "Now, now, Glynda. It's perfectly alright. I understand the distaste of being called an animal." Ruby raised her head, giving a small smile at the professor.

"So!" Professor Ozpin suddenly yelled. "Where did you learn to do this?" Goodwitch held a tablet that played a video of Ruby as she attacked the criminals with her scythe. "S-Signal Academy?"

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Professor Ozpin asked. "Well, one teacher in particular," the young faunus responded. "I see..." Ozpin placed the plate of cookies on the table and pushed it towards Ruby, who looked down at them before proceeding to practically inhale them, pushing them to the roof of her mouth before swallowing them whole. "It's just that I've only seen one scythe wielder of that skill before. A dusty old crow."

Ruby swallowed the cookie she was eating. "Oh! That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now I'm all like- Hooooooo...witchaaaaaaa!"

"So I've noticed." Ozpin put his coffee on the table. "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well..." Ruby replied, "I want to be a Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" See, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, 'Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!' I mean the police are alright, but Huntsman and Huntresses are just somuchmoreromanticandexcitingandcoolandjust...JAA you know?!" Goodwitch looked at the girl, expressionless. When she does want to talk she doesn't slow down, does she?

There was a brief moment of silence following Ruby's ramble before Ozpin asked her, "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

He grunted in acknowledgement. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?" he asked her, leaning forward a bit. "More than anything." Her slitted eyes flashed with determination.

The headmaster shared a look with Goodwitch, who gave a small grunt and looked away.

"Well, okay." Ruby couldn't believe this. Her mouth opened and her fangs unfolded as she smiled widely. She was going to Beacon with Yang!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang cooed, giving Ruby a bone-breaking hug. Ruby rolled her eyes and expertly slithered out of the hug. "You slippery snake! I will never forget your betrayal, little sister!" Agitation boiled in the younger girls stomach. She pushed her gloved hand to Yang's mouth, silencing her with a glare. Sure Yang, why not just announce my heritage to the entirety of Beacon!

Yang realized her mistake and quickly apologized. They were beginning to gain the attention of the other passengers of the Bullhead. It's not everyday you see a loud, boisterous girl have a full conversation with someone who's completely silent. A quick glare from Yang and everyone got back to their own thing.

"I'm just so proud of you! You made it into Beacon two years early. Everyone's gonna think your the bees knees!"

Ruby shook her head at her sister, a small, nervous smile on her face. 'I don't want to be the bees knees.' She signed. 'I got moved ahead two years. I don't want anyone to think I'm special.'

Yang brought her sister into a one-armed hug. "But you are special."

News reporters on the screen of the Bullhead caught their attention, talking about Roman Torchwick and a Faunus Civil Right's protest that was disrupted by the White Fang. Neither of these news stories made Ruby feel much better. Luckily, the reporter was cut off by a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon."

"Who's that?" Yang asked her younger sister, forgetting for a second that she couldn't answer. Fortunately, she didn't have to as Yang's question was soon answered. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

The hologram continued. "You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram disappeared, revealing an amazing view that caught the attention of many other Bullhead passengers.

Ruby stood next to Yang and put her hands on the window, taking in the view. You can see Signal from here, she thought. Yang put her arm around the younger girl. "Don't look like that, sis. Beacon's our new home."

The moment was interrupted by a blonde boy who was currently trying not to puke. "Guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang said, causing a silent snicker from Ruby. "I wonder who we're gonna meet."

Ruby let out a sudden small gasp, covering her mouth with her hands. When Yang looked at her, she pointed at the blonde's shoes, which were covered in puke, probably from 'Vomit Boy'.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Ruby tried to get away from Yang, who was also trying to get away from herself. It wasn't working fantastically.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Pretty soon Yang had cleaned the puke off her shoe, and the Bullhead landed at Beacon Academy.

Vomit Boy was one of the first to exit the ship, depositing his lunch at the closest trash can. Yang and Ruby followed, surrounded by other students. The pair looked in awe of the grand school before them.  
"The view from Vale's got nothin' on this!" the older sister said. Ruby, however, was currently enjoying a different view. SO. MANY. DIFFERENT. WEAPONS.

Yang followed Ruby's gaze to find out what had caught her attention from the magnificent view so easily. It took a moment to figure it out due to Ruby's goggles, but she soon realized that Ruby bouncing around like she had just inhaled a jar of sugar were the weapons their peers were carrying. Yang rolled her eyes. "Easy there little sister, they're just weapons. Calm down before you start hissing!"

Ruby looked at her indignantly, and brought up her hands to give Yang a silent lecture before she was stopped. "I know, I get it. Our weapons are a part of us and all that." Ruby nodded, looking pleased. "Why can't you swoon over Crescent Rose?"

Ruby pulled out said weapon and cradled it in her arms, sticking her tongue out at Yang. "You're so weird, Ruby. How about you try to meet new people instead of weapons?"

The younger sister raised an eyebrow, and drew a line over her mouth with her index finger. "Yeah, I know it's tough when you can't talk, but it's not impossible. Besides, I'll stay with you do you can get around easier." Ruby gave her a grateful smile. "First I gotta go say hi to my friends and I'll be right back, 'kay?" Yang zoomed off before Ruby could answer, and the faunus spun around dizzily until she fell into a pile of suitcases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended at a cliffhanger! Next time we'll meet Weiss and Blake for the first time, as well as an actual introduction to Jaune. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though! Feedback is always appreciated. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Yang meet some new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This chapter was supposed to be out sooner, but I made the chapter a bit longer instead. Thanks so much for the support you've all been giving! I don't entirely know what direction I'm gonna take this fic in, but I have plans. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

"What are you doing?!" Ruby picked herself up from the ground. _What a good way to start off my time at Beacon. My sister freakin' ditches me and I fall down and now some shrill-voiced crabby girl is yelling at me!_ Ruby thought as she got up and gave an apologetic nod. "A nod?! That's all you give me?! How about an apology for knocking down my luggage! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused? Give me that!" she yelled, grabbing the suitcase Ruby had been trying to hand to her. Now that Ruby looked, this girl seemed familiar...

"This is dust! Mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry!" the girl continued. _Oh. shitwhiskers. She's a Schnee!_ Ruby's gloved hands instinctively went to her goggles, making sure they were in place. "What are you, braindead?! Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" the Schnee continued yelling, shaking the bottles of dust into the air. Ruby tried to keep her mouth closed as the dust got into her nose. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?! Or are you just gonna nod again or something?!"

**BOOM!**

Ruby couldn't help opening her mouth a little as she let out a sneeze that caused an explosion all around them. Thankfully nobody seemed to see the inside of her mouth because they were instead focused on the giant explosion she just caused. The vial of fire dust flew through the air, and rolled over to a passerby, who stopped reading her book to pick it up.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Ruby looked at the girl sheepishly, touching her fingers together nervously, which only made the Schnee angrier. "Well?! You have nothing to say!? No apologies, no nothing?! You complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little YOUNG to be attending Beacon?!"

"HEY YOU!" A voice interrupted the white-haired girl before she could continue. Ruby and Weiss looked over to the newcomer, relief and anger on their faces respectfully. "STOP PICKING ON MY SISTER!" Yang had noticed the explosion and went over to investigate. Seeing her baby sister being yelled at by a Schnee had caused her eyes to go crimson and her hair to glow like wildfire.

"News flash, your dunce of a sister knocked over my luggage, caused an explosion, and completely charred my clothes! AND she refuses to apologize for any of it! She just keeps looking at me weirdly!"

"News flash for you, princess, she can't apologize! Not everyone can talk, you know!"

"It's Heiress, actually." _Great,_ Ruby thought. _Someone else is involved. Welcome to the friggin' party._ This girl had pale skin and long, silky black hair. But what caught Ruby's attention the most was the peculiar black bow that rested on her head. There was something about it... "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition!" the Sch...Weiss chirped. Yang tapped Ruby's arm to get her attention, and signed her a message giving a very obscene insult about Weiss that made Ruby chuckle silently. The pair turned their attention to the gorgeous newcomer. "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners. "What-how dare-" Weiss stammered while Ruby and Yang smirked a little behind her. "Ugh!" Weiss grabbed the vial of dust from the other girl's hand and stomped away from the other three angrily. "Good riddance," Yang growled under her breath. "So what's-" Yang turned around to find the other girl walking away as well.

Ruby let out a small huff of breath and fell back onto the floor. Maybe she'd just lay there...bask in the sun. She liked the sun. It was warm. A new shadow washed over her. "Hey..." she heard. "I'm Jaune." A boy with (blonde? Ruby didn't know, but it was about the same shade as Yang's) hair held out his hand to help her up. She accepted and pulled herself up as Yang jumped into the conversation. "Vomit boy?"

 

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on." Jaune had dived into a twenty minute explanation about how motion sickness was a serious problem that not enough people took seriously. At this point the sisters were almost desperate to make him shut up about it.

"Dude, look, I'm sorry. Vomit boy was the first thing that came into my head," said Yang as her younger sister nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah?" Jaune responded. "Well what if I called your sister 'Crater Face'?" Ruby responded like a mature adult and flicked him on the forehead with her gloved hand.

"Anyways, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue," said Jaune gesturing at himself with his hands. "Ladies love it," he added, shooting Ruby a confident wink. Her goggles didn't do anything to conceal the deadpan expression she wore. "Do they?" Yang asked.

"They will. Well, I hope they will...I mean my mom always says that...never mind." The two sisters shared an amused glance.

"Soooo...Ruby...you're kinda quiet huh?" Jaune asked, changing the subject. Ruby and Yang both stopped walking, making Jaune fear he had struck a nerve. "ImeanIdon'tmindoranythingit'sperfectlycoolsorryforasking-" he was cut off by the youngest of the three covering his mouth with her hand, giving him a kind smile.

"Don't worry about it guy. Just try not to ask about it too much. You gotta reach at least level 4 in friendship before you get that story," Yang told him. "By the way, what's your weapon?" Ruby visibly jumped up at this, and she was afraid she'd need to cover her mouth to hide her fanged grin.

"My weapon...? Oh! Well, I got this sword! And a shield. I call them Crocea Mors." Yang and Ruby nodded. Ruby pulled out her scroll and typed a message. 'So what do they do?'

"The shield gets smaller...so when I get tired of carrying it...I can just put it away." He looked to Ruby's scroll again, which had another message typed on it. 'Wouldn't it weigh the same?'

"Yeah it does," Jaune said, seeming disappointed. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's a cool weapon! Ruby's just a weapon dork. She spent freakin' forever making Crescent Rose, and Ember Celicia would be a lot less complicated if she hadn't been shooting suggestions at me."

"Crescent Rose? Ember Celicia?"

"Our weapons."

"Can I see them?"

Yang and Ruby looked at each other before pulling out their respective weapons, though Crescent Rose was in gun form.

"Woah! You two made those?" said Jaune in awe.

"Yeah! All students form their own weapons at Signal. They're made to fit our fighting styles. Ruby's weapon is a scythe too. She wanted to take after our Uncle."

Ruby unfolded her scythe, making both Jaune and Yang jump back a bit in surprise. _She made that thing..._ Jaune thought, not feeling too great about himself.

"Mine's a hand-me-down. My great-great grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"That sounds more like a family heirloom to me," Yang said while Ruby typed another message on her scroll.

'I like it. Not enough people have appreciation for the classics these days.'

Jaune perked up a bit at this. "Yeah. The classics."

"Wait," Yang cut in. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, I was following you guys." Yang facepalmed, and Ruby shrugged. "I think we're supposed to go the the main hall, you two actual disasters. Just follow me."

**Later**

The trio arrived in the main hall, and Yang and Ruby had to part ways with Jaune, who reluctantly agreed. "Great," he said, unaware of the redhead that gave him a glance. "Where am I supposed to find more nice, fun girls to talk to?"

"What a first day, am I right, little sister?" Ruby silently giggled and nodded. The two were about to continue their one-sided conversation when they were interrupted by a loud yell. "YOU!" Ruby jumped into her sisters arms. "Oh huzzah," said Yang. "The ray of sunshine is back."

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Yang rolled her eyes as her sister tried to shrink in on herself. "Relax, Elsa. It was an accident."

"First of all, I will actually freeze you if you call me Elsa again. Secondly..." Weiss shoved a pamphlet titled 'Dust for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals' in Ruby's face. "You want to make this up to me, right?" Ruby nodded. "Then read this and never speak to me again."

The loud sound of a microphone being adjusted put an end to the conversation, and the three girls looked up to the stage. Professor Ozpin cleared is throat and began his speech.

"I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." After the short speech, the headmaster walked off the stage, and Professor Goodwitch took his place. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins," she said. "Be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kinda...off," Yang observed, facing her sister, who nodded. Jaune suddenly approached Weiss from the side. "I'm a natural blonde, y'know!"

Unsurprisingly, very few of the students in the hall were asleep yet. Most were getting ready for bed, screwing around with their friends, or in Ruby's case, writing a letter back to the gang at Signal. Of course she could send a scroll message, but this felt more authentic.

"It's like a biiiigggg slumber party!" Yang fell down next to her sister, startling the faunus. Ruby gestured at the boys and shook her head, while Yang rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Just because there's boys in the room doesn't mean it can't be a slumber party. Besides..." she continued, shamelessly checking out the guys, who started flexing and showing off their muscles. "I kinda like 'em in here." Just then, Jaune walked through her field of vision in a onesie, ruining the view. "Ewww...so what's that?"

Ruby picked up the letter and pointed at it. "Awww, a letter! That's so cute!" Yang's cooing was put to an abrupt end by a pillow flying into her face. 'I didn't get to take my friends with me. I don't know any of these people,' Ruby signed. "Well, what about Jaune? He's nice. There you go, plus one friend!" Ruby shook her head sadly and pointed to Weiss, who was in a different part of the room. 'Negative friend.'

"There's no such thing as negative friends. Besides, you're bound to make more! There are friends all around us, you just haven't met them yet.," Yang encouraged, making Ruby feel a bit better.

A crackling sound brought the sisters' attention to the girl from earlier, who was reading a book by the candlelight. "Hey, it's that cute girl from earlier!" Yang blurted out, voice somewhere between a whisper and a yell. "Let's go say hi!" Yang abruptly dragged her struggling sister over, waving at the girl.

Meanwhile, Blake smirked to herself. She had been listening in on their amusing conversation for a bit now, which wasn't a hard task with her extra pair of ears. _'That cute girl from earlier,' huh? Something tells me this blonde chick isn't one for subtlety._ She looked up to the two, who now stood in front of her. The younger one was still wearing her goggles, despite it almost being bedtime. "Aren't you the girl that exploded?" Blake asked. The girl nodded in embarrassment and nervously held out her hand to Blake, quickly retreating when this potential but very unlikely friend didn't reciprocate.

"So...what's your name?" Yang asked, trying to salvage the conversation.

"Blake."

"Well Blake, I'm Yang! Ruby's older sister. I like your bow!"

"Thanks," Blake responded dryly.

"It goes great with your...pajamas!"

"Right."

 _This isn't working... Yang thought. One more try._ "Nice night, don't ya think?"

"Oh yes. It's lovely," Blake hissed as passive-aggressively as she could. "Almost as lovely as this book." The two sisters continued smiling, seeming to not get the hint. "Which I will continue to read."

"..."

"As soon as you leave." Yang internally groaned. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause," she said to her sister, who pulled out her scroll and typed a message.

'What's it about?' Blake read. "M-my book?" That was new. People who approached her didn't usually ask about her books. "Well, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body. _That's fucking disturbing,_ Yang thought. "Oh yeah...that's real lovely," she said instead.

Ruby took a few steps forward and sat next to Blake, typing another message. 'I love books. They're why I decided to become a huntress.'

"What kind of books made you decide that?" This girl was beginning to peak Blake's interest. It was another minute before the girl finished typing out her message.

'Honestly, Yang was usually the one who read to me when I was younger, every night before bed. Fairy tales and stories of heroes and monsters. People read those types of stories to escape from reality, so I thought if I became a huntress I could make a world they wouldn't have to escape from. I wanted to be like the heroes in the books, fighting for what was right and protecting people.'

"That's awfully ambitious for a child," Blake said, the subtle, genuine smile on her face turning into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

'That's why we're here.' 

"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang cooed, grabbing her sister into a tight hug. Ruby tried to get out of it by smacking Yang in the face and starting a cat fight.

"Well... Ruby, Yang," Blake said, trying to hide the amusement from her voice. "It's a pleasure to-"

"What is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Yang and Weiss looked at each other, simultaneously yelling: "Oh not you again!"

Ruby shushed them both, bringing a finger to her lips and gesturing wildly for them both to quiet down. Blake watched from the sidelines, rolling her eyes as she put her book down. "Oh, so now you're on my side?!" Weiss said as Ruby attempted a glare through her goggles. "What's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"

"She's a hazard to my health!"

The argument was quickly put to an end, as the lights in the hall went off and Blake blew out her candle. Fortunately, Ruby and Yang were able to make it to their spot easily. Ruby just avoided any of the heat she sensed through her pit organ (aside from Yang) and Yang just grabbed onto her. Unfortunately, Weiss had a bit more trouble with this, and took a little longer to make it to her sleeping bag.

**The Next Morning**

"Wake up, lazy butt!"

Ren's day began with his girlfriend waking him up and talking pretty much the entirety of their morning rituals. They had been in the locker room when she started talking about having a signal so they could find each other before anyone else did. Ren sighed exasperatedly. He loved Nora, but sometimes she could be a bit much-especially on mornings. "Can you imitate a sloth?"

"Nora."

"Yes Ren?"

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

Nora spent a few seconds in silence before her revelation. "...That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

Ren closed his locker. "C'mon Nora. Let's go." Ren walked off, Nora following close behind as they passed Ruby and Yang.

"Those two seemed pretty pumped up," Yang observed. "Anyways, what about you? Are you excited Ruby? It's kinda hard to read you when you...y'know. Ruby smiled good-naturedly and nodded, pulling her sweetheart out of her locker.

"Hey, by the way, we're gonna have two other teammates besides just us. You're probably gonna need to talk to them if you want to work together well."

Ruby looked at her sister, posture clearly showing her opinion on that suggestion. "Ruby, I know it's hard. But these are people we'll need to trust and work with. Maybe you should consider going for a fresh start at Beacon. Show your scales! I can't always be there to talk for you..."

Ruby looked down at her feet. "I'll think about it." she whispered just loud enough for Yang to hear. "That's all I can ask for."

"Ridiculous!" Jaune yelled, looking lost as he passed the duo. "There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high. Ughhh, why does this have to happen today?" the poor blonde boy continued to whine as he passed Weiss and another girl.

Weiss faced the other girl. "So Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!"

Pyrrha looked up in the sky in thought. "Hmm..." she began. "I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

"Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together," Weiss asked hopefully. "That sounds grand!"

"Great!" Weiss excitedly responded, happy that her plan was finally going into action. _This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!_

Someone came between them, interrupting her evil monologue. "You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

"You again?" Weiss asked irritably, while Pyrrha greeted him much more kindly. "Nice to meet you Jaune!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jaune dismissed, pushing Pyrrha away. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?" Jaune singsonged, attempting to sound charming. "Actually," Pyrrha began, getting Jaune's attention. "I think the the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

"You don't say?" Jaune advanced towards her, striking a pose as he flirted. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

Weiss went between them, pushing Jaune away. "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, Snow Angel," he responded confidently.

Trying not to grit her teeth at the nickname, Weiss gave her explanation. "This is Pyrrha."

"Hello again!" Pyrrha chirped.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" Weiss said, awfully smug for someone bragging about another person's accomplishment.

"Never heard of it," Jaune shrugged.

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"

"The what?" Jaune was only getting more confused as she went on.

Weiss began flailing her arms in anger. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

THAT got Jaune attention. He let out a fanboy-ish gasp. "That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you," the celebrity responded, a bit shy.

"So, after hearing all this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?"

Jaune visibly deflated and hung his head. "I guess not...sorry."

"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader." Pyrrha patted him on the shoulder.

"D'oh, stop it~" Jaune brightened up. "Seriously, stop it. This type of behavior should not be encouraged!"

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune attempted to charm Weiss, leaning in closer. His attempt to woo her only served to intimidate her, however. "All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!"

Jaune looked back to see Pyrrha's spear fly at him, pinning him to a nearby locker. "I'm sorry!"

The intercom gave an announcement then, instructing all the first year students to go to Beacon Cliff for initiation.

"It was nice meeting you!" Pyhrra said to Jaune politely as she pulled Miló from his hoodie. "Likewise..."

"Having some trouble there, ladykiller?" Yang joked as Ruby helped Jaune off the floor. "I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"

"Disregarding the whole 'Snow Angel' thing, it was pretty uncool of you to try an pressure her like that. She wasn't playing hard to get, she just isn't interested. A lot of girls get uncomfortable when guys corner them like that. Ruby and I both have dealt with it a few times. Not fun," Yang reprimanded him while her sister nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, alright. I get where you're coming from."

"Good. Now let's go, alright?" Yang went ahead while Ruby supported Jaune, though only his self-esteem was really injured.

 

A line of students stood on Beacon Cliff, listening to the headmaster as he began his short lecture.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," the headmaster spoke louder than usual to be heard over the howling wind.

Goodwitch continued on from there. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Ruby shuffled nervously.

These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.

Ruby, as well as many others (many of which had already decided which teams they wanted to be on) felt souls shatter. "See, I told you!" Nora bragged to her boyfriend.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Jaune laughed nervously. _Poor guy. He's probably the least prepared out of all of us,_ Ruby thought. A certain ginger-haired girl, on the other hand, seemed way too happy for someone who was just told to prepare for possible death.

Professor Ozpin continued. "You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will reguard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune had a few. "Yeah, um, sir?" he asked nervously.

"Good! Now take your positions." The line of students got into position, and prepared their stance as well as their weapons in many cases to help them land.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune began. As he was looking at the headmaster, Weiss was catapulted into the air, soon followed by other students. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered, sounding slightly amused.

"Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own "landing strategy." Jaune didn't like where this was going. "Uh-huh...yeah."

Nora and Ren were shot into the air, while a tall muscular guy followed. Yang put on a pair of aviators and winked at her younger sister before she was shot up.

Ruby just smirked at him, and she was immediately gone too.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!" The last of the students was shot up into the air, and initiation began.

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, a bit longer than the other ones. It kinda bothered me in canon that's Jaune kept pressuring and flirting with Weiss when she clearly wasn't interested, so I decided Yang would tell him to be more respectful. Sorry if that bothers anyone. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter, hope you all enjoyed! As usual, feedback and critism is appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss don't like each other, Yang avenges her hair, and Jaune unlocks his aura. Also, Nora is adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And...it's the first part of initiation! I'm not super proud of this chapter, nor how long it took me. I'll probably write 3,000-4,000 word chapters in the future, since it's taking longer and longer to update this anyway. It's faster when the idea is fresh, y'know? Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the support on this story! I didn't think people would actually like my idea much, I just needed to get it down. Glad you guys seem to enjoy it! Nothing left to say, so enjoy the chapter!

Ruby felt the wind blowing through her hair, deafening howls roaring in her ears as she flew through the sky, hitting a very unlucky bird along the way. She shot Crescent Rose towards the ground, the impact slowing her descent before she used the blade to twirl around the branch of a tree.

_Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang..._

"YANGGGG!" Ruby continued to call out for her sister, running at incredible speeds even without her semblance.

_This is bad, what if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first?_

_...Well there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! Not a great fighter though...and kinda pushy. I think he'd probably be one to ask me about my goggles._

_Oh! There's also Blake! So mysterious...so calm...and she likes books. Also, she doesn't talk much so I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of typing a bunch of messages out all the time! So besides Yang, Blake's my best option._

_Okay... so there's a few people I know. Yang, Jaune, Blake, and..._

Ruby skidded to a stop as she made eye contact with a certain icy heiress. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Weiss turned around and walked away. Ruby figured she should be sad, but she was kind of relieved. She wouldn't have to constantly have the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company peering over her shoulder, judging everything she did. That would make it pretty hard to hide her features. Weiss probably wasn't the most understanding either, from what Ruby had seen. She might force me to take off my goggles eventually. Then she'd tell everyone...

Besides, Weiss didn't like her either. Everybody wins!

Looking ahead, Jaune's small whines brought her attention to the tree he was hanging from. Weiss was walking away from him, grabbing her hood along the way.

"By no means does this make us friends."

Great. So she would have a judgemental prissy breathing down her neck with a snarky comment prepared the entire time she was at Beacon.

"Hey wait! Come back! Who's gonna get me down from here?!" Jaune Arc yelled in panic as he flailed around, pinned to the tree by his hoodie.

Luckily, just then, his knight in shining gold armor made her appearance. "Jaune? Do you have any spots left on your team?" Pyrrah joked, causing him to cross his arms and look away in mock anger. "Very funny," he said. However, he couldn't hold back a grateful smile, which was happily returned by his new partner.

At the moment, Ruby and Weiss were having just a few issues working together. One of the partners was stomping through the forest, seemingly trying to stay as far away from the other as possible. The other was trailing behind nervously, as if expecting to be yelled at any minute. It's not hard to guess which was which.

"Will you walk a bit faster? I will not have my mission be delayed because my partner is too slow to keep u-" Weiss was interrupted by a flash of red and a hooded girl making cat gestures at her cutely. "What the?"

Ruby let out a silent snicker and zoomed ahead, leaving her partner surrounded by rose petals.

Weiss wasn't very impressed that her partner ditched her, and she put a hand on her hip as she yelled, "You may be fast but you still excel at wasting time!"

When she got no response, Weiss began to panic. "Ruby?" she called out, hoping for some kind of answer, inaudible as it may be. It took her a minute to notice the glowing red eyes peering at her from behind the bushes, and when she did, she let out a small yelp.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled desperately, though it was drowned out by the roar of the lead beowolf.

 

After Yang's stylish landing (in her opinion, at least) she hadn't seen much of anything interesting for at least 15 minutes. No Grimm aside from the occasional beowolf that had strayed from its pack, no Ruby, no temple.

"Hello!" she called. "Is anyone out there?! HELLLOOOOO! I'm getting bored here!" A rustle in the bushes saved her from her boredom. Finally, something is happening! "Is someone there?" she called out, excitement building. Yang pushed the bushes apart. "Ruby is that you?

Grrrroowwwwwwlllllll

"Nope." Yang said simply, popping the 'p'. An Ursa jumped out at her, narrowly missing her with it's giant claws. She somersaulted out of the way, readying her gauntlets. Another ursai joined the fray, and as it rushed at Yang, she retaliated with a hard punch in the rib cage, firing as she punched to increase the strength. Yang did the same with the other ursa, though this time she delivered a swift kick for good measure. "You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood and goggles, have you?" The two ursai let out a growl and a roar respectively, as if reminding Yang that they were grimm and therefore wouldn't give her an answer.

"Could've just said no!" The bigger ursa continued swinging its claws at Yang, each attack almost lazily countered by a well-practiced dodge. Yang clearly wasn't taking this seriously, just having fun and messing with the grimm. She gave a hearty laugh.

"Jeez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a b..." Yang trailed off as a single strand of hair floated down her vision. There were three things you absolutely did not touch, lest you face Yang's almighty wrath. The first was her bike, Bumblebee. The second was Ruby. The last thing was her hair.

The golden strand floated down to the floor softly, and it would be the only calm thing that happened for the next few minutes.

"You..." Yang's eyes turned from violet to a bright shade of crimson, as the ursai shared a confused glance.

"You monster!" Yang screamed as fire seemed to cover her entire body, giving her a super-saiyen appearance. She unleashed a stream of brutal attacks on the larger ursa, showing it no mercy, nor giving it a chance to fight back. She faced the smaller of the grimm, which had stopped right in front of her. "What, you want some too?!" she taunted.

The ursa stood up on its hind legs, letting out a loud growl. Then it fell to the ground, revealing Yang's new partner. A girl with long dark hair, amber eyes and a black bow stood on the corpse of the formerly alive ursa, breathing heavily as she pulled Gambol Shroud from the back of the grimm. She smirked.

"I could've taken him," Yang stated casually.

 

 _Remember your training Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right food forward-not that forward._ Weiss thought, adjusting herself properly. She was more focused on getting the position right than the growling beasts surrounding her in the clearing.

_Slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike..._

"And...now!" Weiss yelled, thrusting her rapier forward. Ruby appeared just then, getting in the way and filling the air with rose petals as she striked Weiss' target with her scythe.

"Gah!" Weiss skidded to a stop, swiping her sword in a different direction to avoid hurting Ruby. Myrtenaster created a line of fire that struck and burned the leaves off a tree. _Oops,_ Ruby thought as she looked at it.

This brief distraction cost her, as a beowolf chose that moment to slam into her and knock her into Weiss.

"Excuse me!" Weiss yelled, getting more and more pissed. "You attacked out of turn! I could've killed you!"

 _It ain't that easy, princess._ Ruby just brushed her partner off, and they both faced towards the unusually large beowolf. It let out a howl, probably giving some sort of command to the other grimm. Ruby readied her weapon while the flaming tree fell down. Weiss grabbed her hand before she could attack. "We have to go!" The beowolves howled in pain as they burned in the flames.

Ruby and Weiss ran until the heiress was gasping for air. After Weiss caught her breath, she turned to Ruby with a glare. "What was that about? How did you make it to Beacon when you do stuff like that! What is so hard about exercising just a little bit of caution with the placement of your strikes? If you did, maybe the forest wouldn't be on fire!"

Ruby scoffed and turned away from her partner, pouting like a child. "You know what? I should've known someone who couldn't be bothered to speak also wouldn't bother to communicate in an encounter! Congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon!" Weiss yelled, stomping away angrily.

Ruby growled, fangs extending from her mouth as she felt the strong urge to show this bratty heiress just how dangerous she could be. Instead, however, she just sunk her fangs into her bicep and released her venom into her arm, as she always did when she felt these agitated urges. Behind them, a large feather floated down through the air.

 

Pyrrha pushed aside some shrubbery with Akoúo̱, her partner following close behind. Jaune turned his head to the sound of explosions in the distance. "Did you hear that?"

"Gunfire." Pyrrha replied, turning around. "It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." She continued on, pushing a branch out of the way. However, it swung back and knocked Jaune to the ground when he tried to walk through.

"Jaune! I'm sorry," she apologized genuinely. Jaune moved his hand way from his cheek, where the branch had left a scratch. "Heh, it's okay. Just a scratch!"

"Why didn't you activate your aura?"

"Huh?" he replied intelligently.

"Your aura."

"Gesundheit."

"Jaune, do you... know what aura is?"

Jaune scoffed. "Of course I do...do you know what aura is?" He obviously had no idea what aura was. Pyrrha gave her partner a helpful explanation. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"

"Uh.. yeah." Jaune thought he got it. It was their soul giving them a sort of shield to protect them. It could be destroyed then...

"With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."

"What about monsters?" Jaune asked. It was obvious to both of them that he meant the creatures of grimm. "No. The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness, and we are the light."

"Right," Jaune replied, understanding more and more. "That's why we fight them."

"It's not about why, it's about knowing. Understanding both light and dark helps us manifest our aura. Everyone has some of both. By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."

"It's like a force field!" Jaune gushed excitedly.

Pyrrha laughed a bit. "Yes, if you wanna look at it that way."

She walked towards him and placed her hand on her cheek, making him a little nervous. What was she about to do? "Now close your eyes and concentrate." _Is she gonna..._ "Uh, okay," he complied.

A second later he felt a powerful warmth coursing through his body. He felt, strong, protected. Like a true huntsman. He heard Pyrrha's voice then. No, not heard, felt. It was like her voice was already inside his head.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. She placed a hand on his chest. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." Jaune's partner released him and slumped over tiredly.

"Pyrrha?"

"It's alright. I used my aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." She smiled and watched as Jaune's cut almost instantly healed on his face. "You have a lot of it."

Jaune returned her smile with one of his own, and it only grew as he looked at his shining body. "Wow."

 

Ren dusted off his arms and slid his guns back into place after the battle with the King Taijitu. He turned his head when he heard a "qrrraawwwww" from above. Nora poked her head out from the bushes above. "Heh. I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like." She gave no response, simply raising her hand and poking him on the nose. "Boop," she said sweetly, making him smile while she stuck her tongue out. _And here I thought she couldn't get cuter..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is already basically a rewrite of the show at this point. There wasn't any point in adding the Ren-King Taijitu fight, since we all know what happens. The scene with Yang and Blake, as well as Jaune and Pyhrra, play a part in the story at least, so they should be included. Movinf on, sorry this chapter took so long. As I said, expect a new one sometimes this week.
> 
> Lastly, since I know someone's gonna wanna know, Ruby is immune to her own venom. So it's fine for her to bite her bicep like that, but it still hurts and Yang hates it.
> 
> Anyways, thanks so much for reading the chapter and story! As always, feedback and criticisms are always welcome! That's all for now, see you all next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta be honest, not too proud of this. The initiation arc is a bit draining to write and probably to read as well since it's almost just a repeat of canon with minor changes. I don't have much to say today, since I'm kinda tired, so without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

Ozpin stood on the edge of Beacon Cliff, a relaxing breeze blowing through his hair. This year had brought some interesting students indeed, even if you don't count Ruby Rose.

Weiss Schnee was the first to catch his attention. The Schnee heiress. She could have probably gone to any school she wanted through her father's connections. Of course, Beacon was arguably the best academy for hunters and huntresses to-be, but most would assume she would stay in Atlas and learn how to run the SDC. He wondered why she would want to become a huntress in the first place.

Yang Xiao Long was certainly something else as well. He and Glynda, being close friends of Tai, were all aware of what Yang's childhood was like. She had protected her little sister their entire lives, growing up too fast so Ruby wouldn't have to. After Summer died, she had been Ruby's emotional rock. They'd taken care of one another, but Yang was the one who had to constantly put on a strong face and comfort her sister. Yet, unlike most people who grew up quickly, she had not grown bitter or cynical. She still was a boisterous, fun-loving teenager who loved joking around anytime she could. Ozpin admired her for that. Yang hadn't ever scorned Ruby, nor had she been jealous that Ruby had gotten in early. She had been nothing but supportive, as usual. Ruby and Yang might not have been related by blood, but they were some of the closest sisters Ozpin had ever seen.

Then there was Blake Belladonna, Miss Xiao Long's partner (as Ozpin had found from watching the screen earlier). A hidden faunus, and an Ex-White Fang member at that. He had read over Blake's transcripts very carefully. They were a good fake, especially since they had contained some actual information about her. Still, a couple of things contradicted what he already knew. For example, he knew of the last name 'Belladonna'. He had actually met Ghira and Kali a couple times, actually. Now, he could excuse the last name to coincidence if not for the distinguishable amber eyes, black hair, and most noticeably, the little black bow with ears hidden underneath. He knew immediately Blake was their missing daughter. A bit more research from there had led him to information about a traitor in the White Fang, a cat faunus identical to Blake (Code Name: Noctis). Still, Blake's past was none of his business. The best he could do was give her advice on how to face it.

Miss Belladonna wasn't the only student with fake transcripts. Jaune Arc was in a similar situation - aside from being a faunus/Ex-White Fang in hiding. Judging by how well the transcripts were faked, Jaune had done this before. Either that or he had connections to someone who had before. Either way, the transcripts had made it past Glynda's calculating eyes. Not Ozpin's though. He had seen way too much and lived for way too long to be fooled that easily. Still, Jaune had one of the main things that interested him about Ruby. Drive. He had a reason to be a hunter, and he cared about it. He had come from a line of great huntsman and wanted to follow in their footsteps. This drive gave him tons of potential, and with enough work, Jaune could go from one of the worst to one of the best. Luckily, his partner would be there to help him improve.

It was no surprise that said partner had made it into Beacon. Pyrrha Nikos was famous for being the best of the beast, the sweet and humble yet powerful Mistral champion who was always top of her class. He supposed he was glad she had been partnered with Jaune, since she seemed like one of the few people who would try to help him improve. If he was partnered up with someone like Miss Schnee, it would've been much harder for him to improve.

The sound of footsteps behind Ozpin made him aware of his friend's presence. "Our last pair has been formed, sir." Glynda said, looking at the tablet she held in her hands. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren."

Internally, Ozpin smirked. He should have known those two would be partnered together, whether it be because it was just destiny or because they would have done everything they could to make it happen. Those two were practically soulmates after all. Still, they were an anomaly, even to him. He couldn't tell what their past was like, what they were thinking at any point, couldn't make any theories. There wasn't enough information on their transcripts to know where they came from, and he couldn't see through them. Lie Ren was too guarded and stoic, and Nora Valkyrie was too bouncy and hyperactive to pinpoint anything complex. All he knew was they were very close and very powerful.

"Poor boy," Glynda sighed, interrupting Ozpin's train of thought. "I couldn't possibly imagine those two getting along." The headmaster laughed internally. "Don't be like that Glynda, you never know. Besides, they seem to get along better than another certain pair."

"Good point. Who decided it was a good idea to pair the Schnee heiress with a faunus-in-hiding that's two years younger than all the other first years in the school? This can't end well..." Glynda paused for a moment. "Still...she's probably better off than Miss Nikos."

"Hmm?" Ozpin made a small questioning noise, as if asking Glynda to elaborate.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." She tapped out of the camera on her device and walked away from the headmaster. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple in just a few minutes. Speaking of which..." Glynda turned around. "What did you use as relics this year?" No answer. "Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin was looking down at the device, which showed Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, one of which looked bored and the other lost.

Ruby was holding a leaf to her face, examining it. Anything was more entertaining than listening to Weiss babble about how she clearly knew where she was going and walk around in circles. The worst part was, this was an easily-solved problem. If she was partners with Yang, she'd be able to catch a scent trail with her forked tongue, and use that to get to the temple. But she wasn't partners with Yang. She was partners with the uptight, judgemental prick of a girl, the Schnee heiress. But...if she could just catch a scent while Weiss wasn't looking...

Weiss' voice (which would actually be pleasant if Weiss wasn't so bossy) broke Ruby out of her thoughts before she could even make a plan. "Alright. It's official, we passed it." Ruby let out an irritated scoff.

"Oh don't give me that! You don't know where we are either!"

Ruby gave her a glare, and picked up a nearby stick. She then took a knee on the floor, using the stick to write a message in the dirt. When she finished, Weiss looked over her shoulder to read the message. 'Stop acting like you know everything! You act so bossy, like your perfect and everyone else is below you!'

Weiss felt her teeth grit in anger. "First of all, that's not even the correct form of 'your'. Second, I'm not perfect! And not everyone is below me!" Weiss spat out with (metaphorical) venom. "But I know you are."

Ruby watched her partner stomping away, and her anger was drowned out by grief and sadness. It wasn't fair. Why was she stuck with someone that wasn't gonna give her a chance even before finding out she was a faunus? Ruby, feeling glad for the goggles that kept Weiss from seeing her watery eyes, mumbled under her breath, "you don't even know me..."

Weiss stomped away, and almost stopped when she thought she heard a small mumble that sounded like: "you don't even know me..." It couldn't have been Ruby though, Ruby couldn't speak. Maybe she was hearing things. It could've been caused by the annoying feeling of guilt coursing through her. It wasn't fair! She shouldn't feel guilty just because her partner was inadequate! Still though, maybe she wasn't being fair to Ruby either. Her partner was trying her best, and was actually a skilled fighter from what Weiss had seen. And it definitely wasn't fair to be so critical of the communication skills of someone who couldn't even talk. Maybe Weiss should give her a chance... but Ruby would have to do something to impress her first.

 

Blake and Yang stopped their walk when they came across what was probably the forest temple. It was a ruined circular building with chess-pieces, which were probably the artifacts, lined up on the perimeter of the circle.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked. Blake just gave her a blank look before walking towards the temple. The pair examined the artifacts. "Chess pieces?" Blake questioned. Yang gave her reply from the other side of the temple. "Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well... I guess we should pick one."

 

Ruby and Weiss had continued through the forest in an awkward silence for the last few minutes. Ruby couldn't say anything, and Weiss didn't want to apologize. Still, Ruby didn't want to let that affect her grade. She knew that next chance she got, she'd need to catch a scent trail so they would at least have some direction to go in.

Next time Weiss turned away, Ruby quickly stuck her tongue out and flicked it in the air, trying to catch a scent. She did pretty quickly, and dragged Weiss in that direction, despite her partner's protests.

The scent lead them to a tall hill, and if Ruby climbed up to the top of the tallest tree, she'd be able to see a big chunk of the forest.

"What are you doing now?!" Weiss asked as Ruby walked over to the tree. "You drag me in a random direction for half a mile to climb a tree?!" Ruby ignored her. She was too tired to explain her idea and get approval, since Weiss probably wouldn't give it anyway. Besides, it's not like Weiss could do anything to stop her. She couldn't leave since everyone probably had a partner by now, and Ozpin would probably fail them if one ditched.

She climbed as far up the tree as she could, ignoring Weiss' protests. Once she got to the top, Ruby caught view of the temple. Now all her and Weiss needed to do was get there. But that might take a while...

"You actually can be sensible sometimes." Ruby held in a yelp, jumping a little when Weiss surprised her. "I can see the temple from here, but most groups have probably gotten there by now. Know any shortcuts?"

Ruby looked around, catching view of a nevermore flying a little to the South of their direction from the Northeast. She swallowed nervously. Nevermore were Ruby's least favorite types of grimm. They shared some of their anatomy with ravens, and ravens ate snakes! But it would still get her and Weiss there regardless. Ruby smirked at Weiss. _I think I just found our shortcut. she thought._

_Jaune and Pyrrha faced a small cave hole that went dark a couple feet in. "Think this is it?" Jaune asked, unknowingly mirroring Yang. "Only one way to find out," Pyrrha responded._

_After Jaune made a torch, they began exploring the cave. "I'm not sure this is it..." said Pyrrha warily after they were about 15 feet in. Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I made the torch. Can you at least humor me for maybe, 5 more feet?" Just as Jaune finished his sentence he tripped, dropping the torch and be extention, losing their light source._

_"...Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked._

_"Soul-crushing regret?"_

_"No, it's... warm."_

_Yang eyed the knight piece, giving a hum of thought. "How about a cute little pony?" she suddenly exclaimed as she grabbed it. Blake turned to her and rolled her eyes in amusement. "Sure."_

_They walked towards each other, meeting in the middle. "That wasn't too hard!"_

_Blake smirked in response. "Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find."_

_Jaune and Pyrrha went towards the warmth and soon caught view of something yellow and glowing near the end of the cave. "It's the relic!" Jaune yelled excitedly. He reached out to grab it, but it moved out of the way before he could. "Hey! Bad relic!" He continued his attempts, finally grabbing it on the third attempt. "Gotcha!"_

_"Jaune..." Pyrrha said with worry. Jaune gave a high-pitched scream as glowing deathstalker eyes greeted him._

_"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yang turned to the sound of a high-pitched scream. "Some girl's in trouble!" she called to Blake, who was staring blankly at the sky. They had already gotten their relic, but as huntresses, they would need to always lend a hand to others. "Blake, did you hear that?"_

_Pyrrha ran out of the cave as fast as she could, Miló drawn. A giant scorpion grimm crashed through the cave wall behind her, roaring and thrashing it's tail - and by extension Jaune - around in the air as he sobbed and screamed. "Ahhh! Why?! Ahhh! Pyrrha! This is not the relic! It's not! Ahhh!"_

_"Do something!"_

_"Jaune!" Pyrrha called up in response. "Whatever you do, don't let-"_

_Before she could finish, Jaune was thrown into the air, across the forest. "...go." She took one last look at the grimm, gave a sheepish smile, then zoomed away._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhh boy. This is such a mess. Why did the show need to be so back and fourth? Sorry about this guys! I know this chapter is kind of all over the place, but next chapter should be better since they're all gonna be together for most of it! 
> 
> In other news, Woohoo! The initiation arc is almost over. As I said, draining. Soon though, this story will be a bit more flexible and I can do more actual content. 
> 
> That's about it! As always, feedback and criticism are always welcome! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it is messy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY's first morning in their dorm together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I skipped the rest of initiation. I know it was bothering me, and probably a lot of the readers that the last few chapter have been word for word with a few changes. I don't think I'm skilled enough to change that, and I don't want to waste my time or your time writing a transcript for Volume 1. This will probably bother some people, and you guys have the full right to call me lazy. But right now, the fact that Ruby's a faunus plays very little of a part in the story. In Blake's White Fang Arc though... ;)  
> Anyways, enough rambling. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

The members of the soon-to-be Teams JNPR and RWBY (minus the R) stood in awe as the carcass of a giant nevermore fell downwards through the air, evaporating before it hit the ground. "Wow." was the only thing said.

Even from afar, they could see the tiny figure of Ruby walk to the edge of the cliff, her cape flying behind her with rose petals softly fluttering behind her. After Ruby and Weiss made their way to the temple on the grimm bird, the teams had expertly defeated it, along with the deathstalker that had been chasing Pyrrha. Okay, maybe not expertly. It was a mess. Still, pretty impressive for eight first years to defeat two ancient grimm.

"Well," Yang said, breaking the silence. "That was a thing."

 

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day foward, you will work together as Team CRDL. Lead by... Cardin Winchester."

The loud applause that filled the room hurt Blake's sensitive ears even with the bow covering them. So the matching chess pieces were how teams were formed then? That was what she assumed, but you couldn't be too careful. Ruby and Weiss had picked up the knight pieces as well if Blake was remembering correctly. That would mean she would be on a team with her partner Yang (who would've thought), Ruby, and... Weiss. That was a problem. It wasn't everyday you found out that a faunus would be pretty much living in the room as the Schnee heiress. Still, Blake could work with this. It would definitely come up, but she hoped that her teammates would become close enough friends that she could reveal it on her own.

Professor Ozpin's voice cut through the applause, catching Blake's attention. "Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by... Jaune Arc."

"Huh?" Jaune asked nervously. Pyrrha smiled at him with pride. "L-led by..?" Ozpin nodded "Congratulations, young man."

Pyrrha gave her partner what was intended to be a friendly clap on the shoulder, but ended up knocking him over. She gave him an apologetic grin and the team walked off the stage together.

"And finally..." Ozpin continued. "Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xio Long. The four of you retrieved the white night pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose."

This caught Blake off guard. Led by Ruby? Now from a certain viewpoint, Blake could understand. Ruby was ambitious and talented, especially for a 15-year old girl. She was intelligent and had a heart of gold. AND she had came up with and executed the plan to kill the nevermore, without speaking no less. But that was just the problem. Ruby couldn't speak. Team leaders would be expected to give their team orders and instructions on what to do. They'd need to keep the team together (which Ruby could still probably do, just not as well) and be the one everyone looks to for help and advice. Blake just had to hope that Ruby could accomplish this even with the communication barrier. Not being able to talk and not being able to speak were different after all.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" Yang yelled, brushing past her partner to give Ruby a hug. Blake and Weiss watched, one impassive and the other envious.

The applause died down as the headmaster began to speak again.

"Looks like it's turning out to be an...interesting year."

 

An itchy and uncomfortable feeling woke Ruby up the next morning earlier than usual. Like...wayyyy earlier. How does 3 am sound? Ruby always woke up at around 6:30 each day for her morning workout routine with Yang. Her dad and Uncle Qrow had made them do it throughout their training at it stuck even afterwords.

 _Fantastic timing..._ Ruby thought. _This couldn't have waited at least two more hours? Yang's gonna be pissed..._

Regardless of the fear for her life, Ruby got out of her bed and tiptoed over to her sister's. She gave Yang a gentle shove; the last thing they needed was for Yang to freak out and wake up the other two. Then they'd question her and she'd have to wait to deal with her problem. "yang!" Ruby whispered, shaking her sister until Yang woke up. "..ugh...Ruby?" she mumbled, but was quickly shushed. Suddenly, Yang found herself being dragged out of bed across the room and into the bathroom.

"What the heck, Ruby?!" Yang hissed as Ruby turned on the lights. "What was that abou-" Yang cut herself off while the younger of the two turned around. The goggles were off at the moment, and Ruby was holding her gloves in her right hand. Ruby had worn the gloves to bed and put her sleeping mask on to cover her eyes. Now both were off, but that wasn't what caught Yang off guard. Ruby's forearms - and cheeks, though it was less obvious - were a lot shinier and looked a lot more fragile. "Oh..."

Ruby always hated her shedding. She felt amazing afterwords, but the skin was flaky and dry and it hurt if you pulled it off wrong. She could get it off herself, though it was way harder and a lot more painful since she couldn't see all her scales. Yang was way better at it. After years of practice, Yang had learned just about all there was to know about how to help Ruby in this situation.

Yang ran her finger over Ruby's forearm, making the younger girl squeak with discomfort. Yang sighed and motioned for Ruby to sit on the bathroom counter. "Don't worry, rosebud. Yang's got you."

 

Ruby and Yang ended up doing their morning workout a lot later than intended. It was 7:15 AM when they started, and Blake was already up. To neither sibling's surprise, she was reading. "What were you two doing in there?" Blake asked skeptically.

The sisters, one of which couldn't see due to her sleeping mask, swallowed nervously. Luckily, Yang was great with making excuses. "I was helping her with her eye medication," she lied, impressively casual for someone with their little sister's biggest secret at stake.

"Eye medication."

"Yeah! The goggles aren't just for show, y'know. Ruby's pretty insecure about her eyes." The second part was true. Ruby did hate how her eyes looked. When she was young, people called her a freak because of those eyes.

"Oh. I didn't know. Alright then." Blake went back to reading her book. By the time the pair of sisters finished their exercises, Weiss had began to stir due to them suddenly getting a lot noisier. The room filled with laughs as Blake ended up joining the fun and was pinning Yang to the bed, tickling her.

"What are you three doing?! Do you know how early it is?!" Weiss yelled, frustrated at her peaceful morning being disturbed. Her response was giggles from the other three girls, varying in volume. "Yeah, it's 8:30," Yang snickered. "Not very early for a school day." Weiss looked away, embarrassed. She had slept longer than she hoped to.

"8:23, actually," Blake cut in. "Never mind, 8:24." Yang rolled her eyes, picking up a protesting Weiss from her bed. "Don't get cute with me Blake. I bet you're on of those people who responds with 'the sky' when someone asks you what's up."

Yang and Blake exchanged pretend verbal jabs while Weiss went through her morning routine. She came of the bathroom after taking a shower dressed in her school uniform. The rest of the team was wearing theirs, too, but Ruby wore her gloves underneath the sleeves. "Isn't that uncomfortable?" Ruby looked at Weiss, tilting her head. "Your gloves. You're wearing them underneath the corset of the uniform, not to mention the jacket. Won't that be uncomfortable?" Ruby's only response was a noncommittal shrug.

Eventually, the team had to stop procrastinating and unpack their stuff. "Alright everyone!" Yang yelled, catching the team's attention. "As second in command I'd like to announce that it's time for our first mission! Decorating!" Of course, Weiss had to object to this. "Why are you second in command?! I'm Ruby's partner!" Yang stuck her tongue out immaturely. "Because I'm the only one who knows sign!" Weiss grumbled but didn't try to argue.

The group began the task of decorating their room, filling it with stuff of their tastes. For Yang this was posters, for Weiss a painting, for Blake, all her books along with some very... erotic literature that she immediately hid. At some point, Ruby thought it necessary to cut the curtains in half with her scythe for whatever reason, and they had to be sown together again. The team stood back, examining their room. The beds were piled together in the middle of the room, since there was so little room anywhere else.

"This... isn't going to work," Weiss commented. Blake nodded in agreement. "It is a bit cramped."

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff." Yang added her two cents in. Ruby tapped her on the shoulder, signing something excitedly Yang suddenly lit up at whatever her sister said. "Ruby, that's genius! Bunk beds!"

"Um, that sounds incredibly dangerous."

"And super awesome!"

"It does seem efficient."

"Well- we should put it to a vote!" Yang laughed. "I think we just did."

Team Bunkbed- 3

Team Bummer- 1

The three arranged their beds into some stylish, fun, questioningly stable bunk beds.

"Alright... time for classes I guess." Yang groaned, her and Ruby looking over the classes they had. "Our first class begins at ni-" Yang suddenly stopped, going pale. "What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"SHIT! CLASSES START AT NINE! IT'S 8:55!" Yang jumped out of bed and ran out the door, the rest of the team following behind.

Team JNPR was in their dorm getting ready when they heard a yell that sounded like a strangely panicked Blake. "Weiss, hurry! We need to get to class!"

They peaked out the door. "Class?" Jaune asked tiredly before his team knocked him over and they all fell on the floor. He got up swiftly. "We're gonna be late!"

Ozpin and Glynda walked side by side through the courtyard. Their peace was soon interrupted when two first year teams, RWBY and JNPR, were comedically sprinting across the yard to get to class. He drank his coffee while Glynda looked at the time on her watch. Neither felt any sympathy for the panicked students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! Hopefully that isn't as word-for-word this time. I tried adding a few stuff and switching the dialogue around a bit. As I said though, Ruby being a Faunus isn't super important yet and it feels wrong to cut out most of a volume to get to it.
> 
> Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! As always, feedback and criticism are always welcome!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss suffer some good ol' teenage angst. Good thing they have teachers available to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose writing over sleep. Please send help. Anyways, I've been trying to get updates out pretty often since the chapters are short, but the next chapter might be out a little later than usual. I'm kinda tired at the moment. Nothing else for now, enjoy the chapter!

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

When nobody laughed, Professor Port cleared his throat awkwardly and continued with his ramble.

 _God help me,_ Ruby thought. Team RWBY and Team JNPR made it to class JUST on time, which they were relieved about. However, their Grimm Studies teacher, Professor Pork or something, was one of those adults. The ones that would ramble on and on with random exaggerated stories and jokes that fell completely flat. Ruby was immediately able to tell this about Professor Port because she happened to know multiple people back in Patch that did the same thing. These people tended to be drawn to her because she couldn't ask them any questions or interrupt them. They could go on and on with their narcissism, which Ruby was fine with. Why shouldn't they get to have their fun?

Ruby had been drifting off into a peaceful sleep before being interrupted by the booming laugh from her professor at his own joke. She guessed she should pay attention... Professor Port could have been tricking them into thinking that they could doze off and not miss anything. It would be weird, but this school had them facing elder grimm in Initiation. Anything is possible.

Anger flared through Ruby as Professor Port mentioned something about huntsman and 'huntresses' clicking his tongue and sending a pointed look at her sister. This grown man was checking out her 17-year-old sister. Hooo, boy. Wait until she told Dad about this. Once, Ruby had read an article online to sate her own curiosity about her venom. Snake venom wouldn't kill you unless you had some sort of infection, cut or other injury that let the venom get into your bloodstream. That being said, Ruby if put her venom into Professor Port's food, she MIGHT not kill him... but how would she go about doing that in the first place?

Ruby's plan to potentially kill her teacher was put to a stop before it even started when Weiss elbowed her in the ribs, and she had to hold back a painful hiss. "You're goggles aren't making it any less obvious that you're not paying attention, dunce!" Weiss whispered shrilly, tone dripping with fury. Her frustration wasn't at all diminished by her partner's annoyed glare.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Weiss looked to her right to see Ruby not paying attention again. Unbelievable! She gets assigned to the position of team leader and she won't even pay attention in class?! I should have been team leader!

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!" Now Ruby was balancing a book and apple on a pencil. Weiss began to grow even more frustrated.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" Ruby seemed to be either picking her nose or doing something with her goggles. Weiss was trembling with rage.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" This was Weiss' chance. She'd finally prove that she should have been leader! Not this insufferable, silent, hyperactive dunce. "I do, sir!" Weiss yelled, raising her hand proudly.

"Well, then, let's find out! Step forward, face your opponent!" Professor Port motioned to a captive grimm he was keeping in a cage.

A few minutes later, Weiss was in her combat uniform, holding her rapier out in front of her. She heard her teammates cheering her on in the background. Yang's voice she heard first: "Go Weiss!"

Blake was a little quieter, waving around a cute little 'RWBY' flag. "Fight well!" Ruby gave a thumbs up and a smile, though Weiss was facing the other direction and couldn't see it.

"Alright! Let the match... begin!" Professor Port used his battle axe to cut the locks of the cage. A very angry hog-like grimm came out. It's most notable features were it's giant tusks and the hard shell of armor covering it's back. Weiss knew this grimm well. A boarbatusk. She had little time to study it for any weak points, as the grimm charged at her as soon as it was released. _It's probably young then..._ Weiss noted. _An older grimm wouldn't be so reckless._

Weiss thrust forward with Myrtenaster at the same time the boarbatusk charged. It caught her weapon inside it's curled tusks, and soon the fight became a battle of tug-a-war. Evidently, Weiss knew what she should do in this situation. Since she had a rapier-like weapon, she should get a good grip on the handle and pull it out of the curled tusks from whichever side the handle is on and curl her hand in a specific way as to not strain her wrist.

Even though she knew this by heart, Weiss made one of the worst mistakes a huntress could make. She panicked, and the adrenaline took over her movements. Instead of getting her weapon back properly, she pulled wildly backwards, and was easily disarmed. Myrtenaster was flung behind the boarbatusk.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?"

Weiss knew what the problem was, but there just wasn't enough time to calm down and consider a strategy. How could she ever say she was worthy of being team leader if she couldn't defeat a single boarbatusk?!

 _Okay, okay._ Weiss thought, dodging another charge. _Let's see what I know. I know that I can't attack anyplace it has armor, evidently. Where was it vulnerable, again? Dammit!_

Weiss just couldn't think of it right now. She looked up and was immediately knocked to the ground. She just couldn't remember. She needed help.

The distressed heiress swallowed her pride and gave a pleading look to her partner, mouthing 'help'.

Ruby seemed to understand, and made a circular rubbing motion around her abdomen. All Weiss' prior knowledge came flooding back to her. Of course! There isn't any armor on it's stomach! Weiss knew what to do now.

She dodged another charge from the boarbatusk. Was charging the only thing this type of grimm did? The beast crashed into a student's desk, and Weiss ran to her weapon while it regained it's bearings. She slid and grabbed her sword, getting back into a defensive position.

The grimm had gotten itself up by now. It leaped into the air, curling in on itself to form a sort of 'spin-dash' attack. It zoomed towards Weiss, but was blocked with a glyph and knocked upside-down, revealing it's underbelly. Weiss took the opportunity to jump up in the air, and launch herself sword-first into the monster's chest, killing it.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Weiss was panting as the formerly-living grimm, or 'prey' according to Professor Port, evaporating into the air. That thing sure didn't seem like prey when she was fighting it.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

After she got caught her breath, the implications of what had just happened dawned on Weiss. She had failed. She thought she could prove herself to her team, show that she was worthy of being leader. Her fighting instructor once told her not to depend on anyone, and she had depended on Ruby during Initiation and now here against a single grimm. She stomped out of the classroom, desperate to make sure her team didn't see her watery eyes.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune said, speaking the question on almost everyone's mind. Nobody got why Weiss was angry, as that was what they thought was the problem.

Ruby and Yang, however, knew better. In her younger days, Yang had been an expert in hiding sadness under a mask of anger. Ruby had lived with Yang, and eventually learned to see through the facade. Ruby pointed at herself, then the direction Weiss had taken off in. The older of the two gave an encouraging smile. "Got it. Go get'er Ruby."

Weiss was stomping through the halls, self-deprecating thoughts floating through her head. When she heard the sound of quick footsteps behind her, she wiped her face and turned around. "What do you want?!" Ruby stood there, a concerned frown on her face. Weiss' expression softened, then hardened again as she held up her psychological barrier. This dolt was just determined to worm her way past Weiss' defenses, wasn't she? Weiss turned back around as tears threatened to make their way to her eyes again. "Listen Ruby, I'm grateful for the help, but you don't need to worry about me. I was barely injured at all, and my aura healed whatever scrapes I had. I'm fine okay?"

That wasn't the problem, and both knew it. Weiss felt a hesitant tap on her shoulder. "What is it Ruby?! What is it you're sooo determined to get out of me?!" She whipped around to find Ruby hold out a note to her. Ruby sped away after she grabbed it. 'Meet me in the first year lounge at 8:15 PM.'

 _Oh that slippery little snake,_ Weiss thought, a bit annoyed. She ran away so I didn't have the option to decline honorably to her face. Well, she would have probably gone anyways, if just to sate her own curiosity.

"That went a lot more peacefully than I expected," Professor Ozpin's voice came up behind Weiss, startling her, and she backed up a bit. "Professor Ozpin? What are you doing here?"

The old man took a sip of his coffee. "I saw Ruby approaching you and I got curious. Sorry if I invaded your privacy, but you seemed distressed. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Weiss fiddled with her thumbs for a minute, hesitating. But if anyone knew what to do, it was Professor Ozpin. "It's just... I've never depended on anyone before now. I didn't dare to get close to anyone that wasn't family. And even then, the only living family I trust is Winter. Now I'm depending on three people at once, maybe more, and it's overwhelming. I need to learn to work and fight for myself though! And yet, it already feels like I wouldn't be myself without my team! What do I do Professor?!"

The headmaster put a gentle hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Calm down, Miss Schnee. You're thinking about this the wrong way. You don't need to be alone right now, and neither do your teammates. You're all in the same boat. There will be times where you need your teammates, whether it be in battle or if you just need a shoulder to cry on. But your teammates will need you, too. It's only the first day, Miss Schnee. You've got a long way to go before you have to worry about independence. For now, focus on learning and improving yourself beside the people you care about, and you can all grow stronger together. You can start by going to whatever it is Miss Rose is asking you to go to."

Weiss, feeling a new sense of pride and inspiration, nodded. Her teammates weren't a handicap, they were an advantage. And she was an advantage to them, too. "Yes, sir."

Ozpin smiled. "Good." He started to walk away, than paused after about 6 feet. "By the way, Miss Schnee. I think you might want to talk to Miss Belladonna. I know she can be a little aloof, but you two have a lot more in common than you think."

That left Weiss a little confused. What did he mean by that? Whatever, she'd figure it out later. For now, she had to an boatload of homework to do.

 

Ruby zoomed away, panting. Yeah, it was kind of cheap of her to run away before Weiss had a chance to actually decline her offer. But Weiss needed reassurance, and if she needed to assault her partner with affection and support, she would! Still, was this what Weiss really needed? Maybe Ozpin made a mistake making her leader... she was the youngest in her team! She couldn't talk, she had she had an attention span of 2 minutes, and-" Ruby was knocked to the ground after bumping into something... or someone.

"Ah! Miss Rose! What do I owe this fine pleasure?" Oh goody-goody-gumdrops. It was Ruby's least favorite professor.

Ruby took he finger and drew it over her mouth, the universal sign to tell someone you're physically unable to talk. It worked with most people, but for people who really just didn't get it, Ruby wrote it down. This was a Professor at Beacon though! Even if he was incredibly boastful and probably an ephebophile, he couldn't be dumb.

The professor paused for a minute, then sighed. "Miss Rose, Professor Ozpin informed all the staff of your... situation. We're all alone up here, nobody's gonna see if you speak."

"... Isn't that an invasion of privacy? To tell all the staff without my permission?"

"Oh-ho! So that's what you sound like! It's surprisingly fitting! Back on track, no Miss Rose. I don't think it's an invasion of privacy. The teachers need to know if there's something that will affect their students' learning in any way. You're unwillingness to talk in public for the sake of hiding your identity affects your learning. Especially if you need to ask us something personally. Besides, is it that much of a crime to reveal a key part of a student's identity to teachers said student can trust?"

Ruby felt agitation build inside her again. If she kept biting herself to calm down her violent urges, she was gonna get sick. "How do I know I can trust you?! You're an at least a 40 year-old man who tries to flirt with his students! We all saw that you know! I'm not even sure if I believe your story earlier either! It's exaggerated to the point where it doesn't make sense!" It dawned on Ruby that she was yelling at one of the professors that had control of her grade, and she shut her mouth, looking away in shame.

"Hmm... you can get quite passionate when you do talk." Port wanted to lecture his student on talking back, but she made some pretty good points. Some teacher he would be if he just used his authority to win every argument with his students.

"Miss Rose, you've made a couple good points. Let me reassure you of something, however. I wasn't trying to flirt with any of my students. I was simply making a joke that I thought was funny, and that ended up not being the case. When I see Miss Xio Long again, I'll apologize."

Ruby gave him a hopeful look, and he laughed. "Come on, do you really think Ozpin would hire me if what you said was true? I know it's a bad joke, looking back. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the best comedian around. As for the stories..." Ruby looked up, genuine curiosity showing on her features.

"Of course they're exaggerated. The point of my style of teaching is to help you students learn multiple things at once. You'd mostly be learning about the different grimm in my stories, like what weak points certain kinds have and what behaviors they show based on their age. However, you'd subconsciously be learning how to read in between the lines; find out what information is important and store it in your brain, or notes in some cases."

To say that was a more sensible answer than Ruby expected would be an understatement. "Wow. That actually is a good answer. But... wouldn't telling me that give me an advantage over everyone else since I know what to look for?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It might be a bit more challenging for you, since it won't be subconscious anymore. However, you do have a headstart over everyone else now. Do with that what you will."

Ruby smiled, and took back what she thought about injecting her venom in Port's food earlier. She felt like she understood him a lot more today.

"That being said, Miss Rose..." Uh-oh. Ruby hated when teachers said that to her; it was never anything positive. "You came up here quite agitated, did you not? Is something troubling you?" That was a lot better than Ruby expected. Still, she was reluctant to reveal her troubles.

"I won't judge, Miss Rose. You helped me tonight, so I'll help you. Confess to me your strife!" The last part was added on dramatically, making Ruby laugh. She discovered long ago that adults were often a lot more fun to talk to than people her age since they had experienced so much more and had advice to give.

"Well... I think my placement as team leader was a mistake." There was a moment of silence, before Professor Port answered, "That's preposterous!"

What a hum-dinger. That caught her off guard. "W-what?"

"Miss Rose, what on Earth has you thinking these things?"

Ruby leaned back against the spiked railings. "Well, I can't communicate with my team, and I'm two years behind everyone at this school! I'm clumsy, I'm terrible with dust, and-"

"That's quite enough." The huntsman cut Ruby off. "Those sort of thoughts won't get you anywhere. First of all, it doesn't matter if you're clumsy in everyday life. You fight with great skill and precision on the battlefield, where it really counts. Second, you got moved ahead two years because you were two years ahead of everyone at you're old school. Lastly, you didn't seem to have trouble communicating with Miss Schnee today."

"You know about that?!"

"I have the sharp eye of a hunter. I see everything that goes on in my classroom, including you dosing off." Ruby blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

"Ruby, I want you to listen to what I say. Ozpin once told me that he's made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet. But I look at you now, and I see no mistake. I see an opportunity. If even after all I've said, you still don't think you're a good team leader, than work hard and become the best team leader you can see! Got it?"

Ruby felt determination flow through her veins. "Yeah! I'll be the best team leader there is!" Professor Port chuckled. "I don't doubt it. With enough hard work, you can be one of the best. For now, though, we best get back inside. It's getting dark out."

"Oh yeah... it is," Ruby sighed lazily, relaxed by the cool night air. Then all that relaxation disappeared at once when she processed what he'd said. "WAIT! WHAT TIME IS IT?!" she yelled in panic.

Professor Port, startled, pulled up his sleeve hurriedly to look at his watch. "8:12."

When he looked back all he saw was rose petals floating softly down to the ground. Ruby was using her semblance to get to the lounge as fast as possible. Because for God sake, a good team leader was not late to something they set up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty great how people seem to think that Professor Port practically flirting with one of his students is even remotely okay. Forget that, I'm making him a really bad comedian. Ozpin wouldn't hire a ephebophile as a teacher. By the way, sorry for the "slippery little snake" joke. The immature kid in me couldn't resist.
> 
> Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Apologies in advance if the next one takes a bit longer to come out! As always, feedback/criticism is always appreciated, and see everyone next time!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team bonding activities go worse than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna get a little rough. I'm not gonna spoil much, but I'm gonna put a trigger warning at the beginning.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

*****Trigger Warning: Strongly implied abuse and panic attacks*****

* * *

****Weiss expected a lot of things when she went to go meet with Ruby. The girl was unpredictable to say the least. She made Weiss ride a nevermore during Initiation! And if Blake and Yang were involved in what she was planning, who knew what would happen?

She was a little thrown off when she saw the 'B' and 'Y' of RWBY, along with the entirety of Team JNPR, all there was well. The first-year lounge resembled an almost cartoon-ish living room, with a loveseat and two sofa chairs surrounding a small coffee table. A round, blue rug sat underneath the furniture. Despite the plentiful sitting options, everyone was sitting in a half-circle around the floor, Ruby and Ren on each end. With everyone there, Weiss felt as if she was walking into the most comfortable intervention in history.

"Weiss! Glad to see you showed up!" Yang exclaimed. Ruby made a 'sit down' gesture, and pointed at the spot next to Ren.

Weiss looked at everyone confusedly. "What... is this?"

Yang grinned. "Glad you asked! This..." Yang gestured at the the two teams, "is a double-team bonding activity! Since JNPR is our sister team, they're gonna join us!"

Weiss shook her head affectionately. This was such a 'Ruby' thing to do. "Alright." She sat down. "What are we doing, then?"

"Well, since you ran off today without telling us..." Yang started, causing the mood to grow somber, "We decided we'd have a sharing-circle type thing." Ruby elbowed her. "Okay fine! Ruby decided it. But, yeah. It's for if anyone here needed to get something off their chest, or if you just want to tell the rest of us more about yourself. We all good with that?" Everyone collectively nodded. "Alright, let's start!"

Blake was almost ashamed at how little she actually knew about her teammates. Before she started working alongside Adam, and even afterwords to a lesser extent, Blake was a spy in the White Fang. She went undercover, gathering and returning intel. That was why she had her bow in the first place. But she had found out things about her teammates - and the members of Team JNPR - that came as a shock to her. Nobody had anything that was bothering them; that they wanted to talk about at least. Everyone just ended up telling the group about themselves and their past like some kind of weird first-day-at-school sharing activity.

Apparently, Ren and Nora met when they were kids, which was believable since they're so close. What was really surprising to Blake (and everyone else in the room if their expressions were anything to go by) was that Yang and Ruby were only half-sisters.

"WHAT?!" Jaune yelled when it was revealed.

Yang laughed and Ruby rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "That's what everyone says when we tell them!"

"If it's not too personal, would you care to elaborate?" Blake asked, wanting to know more.

Yang immediately shrunk a little, and the change in mood was obvious. "I'm sorry, Yang," Blake apologized. "You don't have to-"

"No, no, it's fine," Yang interrupted. She took a deep breath, and grabbed hold of Ruby's gloved hand.

"Okay, so, my birth mother was a woman named Raven Branwen. I don't know a lot about her, just that she left right after I was born for whatever reason." Pyrrha opened her mouth to offer her sympathies, but Ruby held up her free hand to stop her. Yang leaned back, holding herself up with her right arm. "You guys don't need to feel sorry for me; I never knew her. Ruby's mom was another story."

Everyone perked up, looking at the elder of the sisters with curiosity. "Summer Rose went to Beacon Academy in the past. She was on a team with Raven, our dad, and our uncle. They all went on the become huntsman after they graduated. After I was born and Raven left, she helped my dad care for me. Then, after I turned two, Ruby was born. Our parents took care of both of us from there. I never knew that she wasn't my real mom. Dad taught at Signal, and Mom took missions around the kingdom. On some days, there were a few hours nobody was there, but that was it. We were one big, happy, fairy tale family."

A tear escaped from Yang's eye, and Ruby was shaking slightly. "One day, our mom went on a mission and never came back."

The rest of the room shared a silent agreement, then moved forward to embrace the two sisters. They all sat there for a while until Yang stopped sniffling and Ruby stopped shaking.

"Alright!" Yang blurted, and attempted to lighten the mood. "Do you guys want to keep going or no?"

"I think I'll go back to the room. It's a bit too dark for me now and I don't have much of anything interesting to say anyways," Jaune spoke up.

Weiss agreed with him. "Same here." The two headed back to their respective rooms together.

"Okay, so there's six of us left," Pyrrha observed. "Yang already shared, and Ruby was kind of included in it. Same with Ren and Nora. That leaves me and Blake, and there isn't too much about me that most of you don't already know. So... Blake?"

"Oooh! It's the mysterrrrrious Blake's turn!" Yang joked, causing Ruby to grin and Blake to hide a smile. "Whatchu got, Blakey?"

Blake froze. What did she have to share? She couldn't say anything about her past without also revealing she was in the White Fang! She lived in Menagerie when she was a kid, but only fauna lived there! She couldn't talk about Ilia; they met in the White Fang! And... Adam...

Memories flooded into the front of Blake's mind.

"This hurts me as much as it hurts you, but you need to learn obedience!"

The feeling of a blade drawn across the small of her back. Her chest tightened. Ilia should be here with her. Where was she?

"Do you think I enjoy this, Blake?"

The burn dust on her shoulder made her howl in pain. The room started to spin around her, and she gasped for whatever air she could find. When did it become so hard to breathe?

"You had it your way."

The fear and shame she felt after they had intercourse. He wasn't gentle the way she always imagined in her earlier teens. It hurt, but it was better than what he would do if she denied him. She had to listen to him, or he'd hurt her again. Blake could faintly hear her teammates voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Their voices were drowned out by the thumping in her chest. Was she having a heart attack? Fear shot through her entire being, tears and sweat flowed down her face.

She felt a gentle touch on her shoulders, and it helped a bit. Within a few minutes her sobs had quieted slightly, though it was still fairly loud. Within 15 minutes, her heartbeat had slowed down, and she could breathe again. Within 20, she had stopped sweating and her tears weren't flowing out of her eyes. At 25 minutes, she had stopped moving around and sat still. The gentle pressure from earlier had wrapped around her, and she held onto it desperately until she calmed down completely.

When she regained her bearings, she looked around the room to find that Ren, Nora, Yang, and Pyrrha had moved away, probably to give her space. She was thankful for their respect. Ruby, however, had her arms wrapped around Blake, and was resting her head on her friend's shoulder.

One she noticed Blake seemed to be okay, Yang asked, "You ready to go back to the room, now?" Blake nodded stiffly. The group walked back to their dorms, Ruby keeping a loose grip on Blake's hand the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter, honestly. 
> 
> I've never experienced or seen an anxiety attack take place so if I wrote anything wrong, please tell me and I'll happily fix it. I don't ant to offend or disrespect anyone who really does suffer from anxiety or panic attacks.
> 
> As always, feedback/criticism is always welcome, and thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby gets sloppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized how much I love the fact that they have a space for Authors' notes so you don't have to add false words onto the story. It kinda feels like I'm faking people out when I post of ff.net. 
> 
> Anyways, sorry that this chapter's shorter! It wasn't gonna flow super well today, no matter what I was doing. So... have some cute fluff? This was suppose to be just really tender friendship because Ruby and Pyrrha are the sweetest two people on the show, but I went a bit too far and now it's a bit... uh... implying? You can read it either way, honestly. I addressed the idea of shipping in this story on ff.net, but I'll go into detail over here more at the end of this chapter.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy Chapter 11!

Even after the the first few weeks in Beacon, Ruby Rose was still a mystery to all. Pyrrha Nikos was no exception. As guilty as she felt to admit it, she was a bit unnerved by Ruby. The girl never removed her goggles, nor did she open her mouth. Pyrrha understood that Ruby was mute and unable to talk, but at every meal Team JNPR and Team RWBY had together, Ruby would be extra careful to keep the inside of her mouth out of sight. As hard as she was trying, it likely wasn't just simple table manners.

What was even more strange was that occasionally, in the middle of class, Ruby would lean over to Yang, sign a very fast message, and the pair would abruptly leave the room without asking the teacher. Pyrrha had asked Ren, who knew sign, to translate. He seemed just as confused as she was, telling her that the only word she signed was "skin."

You could imagine her shock when during one of these occurrences, Jaune came up to her with something he found. It small - maybe the size of her palm- and clear. It looked somewhat like bubble wrap, yet felt rough and flaky. Pyrrha recognized it immediately;  _Snake skin._

Pyrrha started to get an idea of what was going on.

* * *

Ruby and Pyrrha weren't super close. They liked each other, but only really hung out through double-team activities and Jaune. Needless to say, Ruby hadn't expected to get a scroll message from her in the middle of sun-bathing. She was only mildly annoyed; the text was probably important, and Ruby could always continue later.

She couldn't help the fear that gripped her as she made her way up to the roof. Had something bad happened? Had Ruby done something to upset Pyrrha? She didn't know what she could've done. She probably would have remembered doing anything to upset Pyrrha - she had incredible patience. Besides, Ruby couldn't exactly have said anything to make Pyrrha mad.

She took a step through the doorway to fine Pyrrha sitting on the edge of the roof. You could see all the way to Beacon Tower, and Pyrrha being in the picture made the view even more beautiful. At one point, she should have Pyrrha come here and sit in that thoughtful pose again so she could redraw the scene herself. But there were other things to attend to right now.

Rather then calling out to her sort-of-friend, Ruby made sure her footsteps were audible. She was usually tied with Blake for the quietest person on the team, since she had begged her uncle to teach her stealth tactics. If she couldn't speak, she might as well learn to use her silence as an advantage.

Pyrrha, with her sharp senses, easily heard her friend coming. Ruby sat next to her, and Pyrrha took a deep breath. If she didn't confront Ruby about this now, she wouldn't ever be able to again.

"Ruby," she greeted, her voice hitching slightly to give away her nervousness. Ruby gave an encouraging nod in response, causing Pyrrha to relax a bit.  _That's right,_  Pyrrha thought. _She isn't Blake or Weiss. I doubt she'll get mad at me. Still, what if she runs away?_

"Okay. I'm gonna ask you something. But first, promise that you won't run away. Pyrrha held out her hand towards her younger friend, who shook it after a few seconds of hesitation."

Pyrrha took one last deep breath, before reaching into her hidden back pocket to pull out the shedded skin. "Jaune found this under your desk, after you and Yang rushed to the bathroom."

Now, Ruby had a naturally pale complexion. She wasn't nearly as bad as Weiss, but had a lot less of a tan than Yang. But right now, she looked like a vampire. "Ruby, relax." Pyrrha raised her hands up in a defensive position as if Ruby were a scared animal. Which, she sorta was at the moment? She was more animal (or viper, specifically) than human, anyway.

"I'm just gonna ask you some questions. As your friend, I'm asking you to be honest with me." Ruby shakily nodded.

"Are the goggles hiding you?" Another less nervous nod. Ruby seemed to be easing in, slowly.

"Would you believe me if I said I don't think of you any less?" Ruby's head snapped up for a minute before the tension started to ease out of her, and she gave another nod."

"One more question... are you really mute?"

"..." Ruby looked down in shame.

"...no..." Pyrrha had to lean forward just to hear Ruby's almost silent response. She had to hold back a squeal when she did hear. Ruby's voice was more fitting then anything Pyrrha could have ever come up with. And, to put it simply, it was adorable.

Ruby expected a lot from Pyrrha. She expected to look up and see shock, disgust, and betrayal on her friend's face. She didn't expect a soft hand to slip underneath her chin and gently lift her head up, before moving to cup her cheek. She didn't expect another hand to come up and very slowly remove her goggles. She definitely didn't expect gorgeous emerald orbs to stare at her with kindness, trust and a little bit of questioning.

Ruby's goggles had been brought up to wrap around the top of her skull, and her tears were now flowing freely to her eyes. Pyrrha wiped them with her thumb, gently shushing her as someone would to a scared child during a thunderstorm. Once Ruby calmed down, Pyrrha touched their foreheads together. "How about this? We'll continue the game of twenty questions..." this got a meek giggle out of Ruby, "...until either the sun goes down or we get bored. That sound alright?"

Ruby smiled. "Yeah, okay." Pyrrha wasn't gonna be able to get up anytime soon anyways; Ruby had trapped her in a tight hug, and wasn't going to let go for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See what I said? It's cute... but yeesh. Not as much focus on the plot itself. I'll make next chapter better if I can. It's gonna explain the "sciencey" stuff around how fauna work in this universe. It won't be entirely the same as canon because I don't like the canon lore. 
> 
> Like...  
> "they only possess one animal trait?" To some, night vision could be seen as a trait, couldn't it? I do like how they fit together biologically, but at the same time I can't figure it out in my brain. If fauna are compatible with humans, wouldn't that mean they are a race rather than another species? At the same time, there are people of color in the Ruby world as well. I'm not gonna try to confuse the crap out of people in my own fic, so I'll explain everything as best I can.
> 
> Anyways, I said at the beginning note that I would address how I'm gonna approach shipping in this story. I think it's best to just keep away from specific pairings. I'm hoping to have moments between a lot of these characters, but keep it from being too exaggerated in terms of romance from now on. And there definitely won't be any "Blake" type stuff in this story if you catch my drift. I'm only 14, so I don't even think I'm allowed to read that stuff let alone write it.
> 
> Anyways, that's everything I needed to say. New chapter should be out by Monday. As always, feedback/criticism is always welcome! I'll see you all next chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faunus education and snuggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta be honest. I don't really know if this is accurate. Most science, genetics included, has never really been my strong suit. And I definitely don't know how accurate the race stuff is. So please, let me know if there's anything wrong so I can do better!
> 
> This is the last chapter of the Milk and Cereal Ark (Arc? Idk) and we'll move on from there. I don't really have other ideas of what to add at the moment, so we'll be moving towards the Jaunedice arc unless I come up with a new idea between now and then.
> 
> I'll continue my ramblings at the end of the chapter. Enjoy Chapter 12!

A pair of redheads sat on the top of Beacon tower, the taller one having her arms wrapped comfortingly around her companion. The sun would dip under the horizon soon, and they'd have to part ways for the night. This meant that they'd have limited time to clear up Pyrrha's curiosity. But for now, they'd just enjoy this moment.

"... Ruby?"

"Mm?" Ruby didn't seem to be fully awake, leaning back into Pyrrha's chest like she did with Yang in their younger years.

"I was actually hoping that you could teach me some things about your kind. I don't really know much about fauna, just rumors and whatever I could find on the internet. Which wasn't a lot; I couldn't bring myself to keep looking through all the racism to find much reliable information. And I've never had any fauna that I was super close too. Not close enough to ask about something like that, anyways."

Ruby felt warmth and giddiness build up in her chest. She's never had a lot of close friends before. She had bonded with some people at Signal but they never tried to understand her the way Pyrrha was right now. She had only come to Beacon a few weeks ago, and she already had people she could trust and rely on. One of them even knew about and accepted her true self! "Y-yeah. Yeah! I'll tell you everything you wanna know!"

Pyrrha seemed less stiff now, and relaxed her hold on Ruby. "Well, if you'll excuse my nerdiness for a second, I was actually wondering how you worked as a whole. Are fauna half-human, half animal? Are they just humans with animal traits?"

Ruby frowned, and looked down in thought. She had spent a good chunk of her late childhood trying to learn about her species, about herself. Still, her brain still struggled to process and understand everything, much less put it into words. "Alright, I'll try to explain as best I can. It can get kind of complicated though."

"I understand. Take your time."

Ruby began her explanation about the science behind fauna. "Okay, so you know how we're split into to categories: human and fauna?" Ruby looked up to Pyrrha, who leaned down to give an affirmative nod. "That's actually the wrong way to look at it. We're all one species altogether. Think of fauna and human as a primary race, and nationality as secondary. You know, like if you're Asian, or white, or etc. Obviously, your secondary race affects a lot of your physical traits. For example, a negro would often have bigger lips, tighter hair, and broader bones than a light-skinned person. You with me so far?"

Pyrrha took a minute to process this information, metaphorical gears turning in her brain. "I think I understand. So that's why fauna have night vision?"

Ruby started twirling Pyrrha's hair with her finger as she talked. "Almost. But it gets a bit more complicated now. Humans have their primary race, which is human obviously. Then they have their secondary race. Fauna, however, have a sort of sub-category race, since we share a good chunk of our DNA with animals. What makes it even harder is that there's a sub-sub-category from there. A person can be labeled as a dog faunus, but they could more specifically be a pitbull or a samoyed, or some other canine breed. In the past, there was a lot of speculation about the origins of fauna, and one theory was that they were the offspring of humans that bred with animals and sometimes even grimm. This encouraged a lot of the racism towards our kind since people saw us as a product of bestiality. Anyways, there's a common misconception that fauna only have one trait from their respective animal. The reality is that the amount of traits we possess from our heritage depends on what percentage of our DNA is animalistic. I'm a white-lipped pit viper faunus myself, and I lean more towards that side of me than the human side. It was believed that if you had even an ounce of animal DNA in you, it would taint your precious humanity and you'd be legally classified as a faunus." Ruby ended that part of her explanation to catch her breath, thinking about what else there was to inform Pyrrha of.

Pyrrha suddenly felt Ruby tense and shrink into her, as if trying to make herself smaller. "Oh, boy... now we get into the uncomfortable part."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, praying that Ruby didn't mean what she thought.

"...Reproduction." Pyrrha instantly buried her face in Ruby's hair. Anything involving 'the birds and the bees' had always been kind of uncomfortable for her. Of course she had urges, but she rarely ever acted on them. She raised her head and tried to be confident. "Alright Ruby. We don't need to be embarrassed about this. Let's look at it from a scientific point of view; it's only awkward if we make it awkward."

Ruby relaxed, feeling a bit more comfortable. "Yeah, okay. I can do that." She looked up into the sky, trying to put her impressive understanding of fauna and human reproduction into words. It was the most complicated part of faunus biology, and there was a lot of it that Ruby wasn't able to understand.

"Let's continue from what I was saying before. About how fauna have human and animal DNA, but tend to lead more towards one side. I assume we both know that human females have a menstrual cycle and female animals have an estrous cycle, right?" Pyrrha gave a somewhat spiteful nod, angry that women had to suffer and men didn't have either of those.

"Okay, good. Don't worry, this part isn't too complex. A female faunus that leans more to the human side will suffer through 'Shark Week'. A female mammal faunus that leans more towards the animal side will go into heat."

The last sentence made Pyrrha stop for a moment. "Wait, a mammal faunus? What about aquatic fauna and reptilian fauna who are more animalistic? Do they just go through the menstrual cycle?"

At some point, Ruby had started to braid Pyrrha's hair subconsciously. Pyrrha didn't mind; she actually found it sort of relaxing. Ruby's voice was the only thing keeping her awake at this point. "Depends. It differs between avian, marine, and reptilian categories of fauna. They reproduce in different ways, and a lot of them are oviparous. I don't fully understand it myself."

"Aren't you reptilian?"

"Pit vipers are different than most snakes. We don't usually lay eggs." Ruby's voice got continuously lazier as she went on, and she broke off into a high-pitched yawn.

Pyrrha's next question, however, woke the faunus up pretty quickly. "Hey, is it really worth it? To cover yourself up just to avoid being teased? I mean, if you just had ears or a tail you could cover those up without much issue, but to just about give up your ability to speak entirely? It seems like a little much."

Ruby stiffened, and her hand went to her waist, tracing over a scar from a hostile encounter that not even Yang knew about. "It's... more complicated than that."

_"You're a traitor to your kind!"_

_"Human-loving filth!_

_"Go to hell!"_

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding as her left hand ran comfortingly through Ruby's dark locks. "I understand. I won't push. I had another question, but it's kinda personal, so you don't have to answer it."

Ruby looked at her expectedly. "Shoot."

Pyrrha bit her lip, afraid to cross any lines. "Well... if Yang's your sister, then why isn't she a faunus too?"

Ruby looked out towards the horizon; it was getting late. She should have expected this question, but truthfully, she didn't know the answer herself. Her parents and Yang always dodged the question. "I don't know actually. Two fauna of the exact same species will have a kid of that species as well, which is known as a 'purebred faunus.' The offspring of two different fauna will only have traits from one side. This is called a 'half-breed faunus.' This title also describes kids with a human and faunus parent. These couples can have either a human or faunus child, but they're referred to by the 'half-breed' title either way. Lastly, if two fauna of the same main species but different subspecies have offspring, the case would be the same as with half-breeds. For example, a bengal and a calico faunus would have either a bengal or calico child. Despite this, the baby is still labeled as pure-bred since they're both cats."

"So... where are you going with this?"

Ruby blushed, realizing she had gotten lost in the speech that had been burned into her brain off of internet pages. "Oh, well... my guess is that my mother was a faunus with hidden traits. Not hidden as in my eyes and tounge, but traits that are internal. I know neither of my parents would have ever cheated on each other." The last sentence was said with pride, making Pyrrha grin.

The pair sat in silence, with Pyrrha running her fingers through Ruby's hair for a while longer until the sun was completely out of view. Ruby, relaxed by the soothing sensation, had drifted off. She had told Pyrrha to wake her up if she fell asleep, but Pyrrha couldn't bring herself to. Ruby just looked too peaceful. She pulled Ruby's hood down over her face as to not reveal her features, and picked her up in a 'piggy-back ride' style.

When she had brought Ruby to her team's room, Yang had given her a relieved and grateful look. Weiss had scoffed about how inconsiderate Ruby was to just go missing like that, but Blake had shushed her. What had Pyrrha a little intimidated was the glare Yang gave her when she handed over the goggles, which were usually covering Ruby's eyes.

The protective sister leaned in and whispered, "We're gonna talk tomorrow." Then, being careful to hide that Ruby had her goggles off from the remaining members of Team RWBY, Yang placed Ruby on her very flimsy bunk. Pyrrha waved goodbye and strolled back to her dorm, dreading tomorrow's talk with Yang.

* * *

"Pyrrha, I really don't think you did anything wrong. Ruby already told me she had her goggles off by choice."

"Then, what did you want to talk about?" Pyrrha asked. What would Yang need to discuss? At first, she was afraid Yang would think that she took of Ruby's goggles while she was asleep. That would be the most logical conclusion, after all, considering Pyrrha had carried a sleeping Ruby back without the goggles on. Ruby had apparently vouched for Pyrrha, though. So what were they here for?

"I just want to clear some things up. You don't mind that Ruby's a faunus?"

"That's correct."

"And you will care for her and respect her, despite knowing this?"

"Y-yes?" That question was a little odd.

Her answer made Yang smile though. "Okay, good. Honestly, I'm so proud of Ruby. My baby sister is growing up. Still, it's scary knowing she won't need me anymore."

 _Uhhh?_ Pyrrha thought intelligently. "Yang, what do you mean?"

"Hmm? Oh! Sorry! It's just a bit discouraging that I'm not the most important person in her life anymore."

 _Wait, what?_  "I'm afraid I don't follow?"

Yang titled her head, now confused. "What? Aren't you and Ruby dating?"

A loud shriek of "WHAT?" from somewhere across the school interrupted Blake and Ren's peaceful game of checkers.

"What was that?" Ren asked, looking around.

Blake looked up from the game. "Do we care?"

"...No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yang is the mom friend. Thanks for coming to my ted talk. But seriously, everyone thinks that Yang is a blonde bimbo and it bothers me because Yang is actually such an intelligent and brave person. Idk, I have a few problems with some of the people in the RWBY fandom as of late. 
> 
> On a lighter note, this chapter was even more fun to write because I just downloaded as a recommendation from an in-person friend of mine and I had a little Pikachu and a fox crawling around my screen as I wrote. :D
> 
> I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but it will be soon. I promise.
> 
> Anyways, I'm gonna go to sleep now. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated, and I'll see you all next chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaune gets bullied, Pyrrha's worried, and whoops! Someone else knows!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Drumroll*  
> Jaunedice arc! Now, I'll be honest. I'm gonna skim past most of this because  
> 1\. This is Jaune-based, so we'll have the same problem I talked about in earlier chapters.  
> 2\. I kinda... hate Jaune?  
> I mean, I don't hate him exactly. So if we go by personality he's a common trope. So is almost everyone else. (Weiss is snobby rich girl with daddy issues, Pyrrha's the model student, Blake's a quiet, snarky bookworm, etc.) I like his character at least, especially in Volume 4+.  
> But if you look through the RWBY tag on here and ff.net, what do you find? Jaune harem fics. EVERYWHERE. Kinda sapped away at my appreciation of him pretty quickly.
> 
> I'm not trying to bash on anyone who likes to write and read these. Do your thing, it's your choice! I just have a strong personal distaste for them. Therandompers mentioned Jaune's last name as well, and how it was being made into overused puns all the time. That's another problem entirely.
> 
> Anyways, enough of my whining. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Ruby and Pyrrha looked on in concern as Jaune 'battled' with Cardin Winchester. It was really less of a battle and more of a butt-whooping in Cardin's favor. Jaune just rushed in and swung his sword repeatedly, hoping to hit his opponent. His stance was completely off, his shield was rarely used, and his attacks were sloppy. Pyrrha didn't want to think badly about Jaune, but she couldn't help questioning how he got into Beacon.

Panic shot through both of Jaune's friends as Cardin held his mace above Jaune's head. A hit from that, especially with the little aura Jaune currently had, would severely injure him. When the alarm went off, signaling the end of the match, Pyrrha let out a sigh of relief while Ruby removed her fangs from her arm (which now was sporting a painful-looking mark). Pyrrha didn't understand Ruby's mentality. Why would she hem the sleeves of her top just so she could hurt herself? Should she be worried?  _I'll just make sure Yang knows about it,_ she decided.

Miss Goodwitch began lecturing Jaune about monitoring his aura during battle with an exasperated tone. "We wouldn't want you getting gobbled up by a beowolf, would we?" she asked.

Cardin scoffed. "Speak for yourself." Ruby winced at this, and aggression boiled in her veins. Her fangs would have found their way back to her arm if Pyrrha hadn't grabbed her wrist to stop her with a concerned glare.

"Remember everyone! The Vytal festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before the students from other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. If you choose to compete in the tournament will be representing all of Vale." The bell rung, dismissing the class. Pyrrha and Ruby stared at Jaune with looks of concern, and he put his head down in shame.

* * *

"So there we were... in the middle of the night!" In the cafeteria, Nora told the group about a recurring dream she'd been having, exaggerating almost all of it. Ren chipped in to her story, uninterestedly shutting down most of her claims. Jaune was lost in his own thoughts, Blake had her face in a book, Weiss was filing her nails, and Yang alternated between actually listening and trying to put her arm around Blake flirtatiously (it wasn't working). Only Pyrrha and Ruby were fully paying attention, and Pyrrha was to busy worrying about Jaune to focus on the dream anyway.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked her partner, changing the subject.

Jaune took a minute to process her voice, jumping when she realized Pyrrha was talking to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?"

Yang threw a cherry tomato at him, which hit him in the eye. "You ain't slick, vomit boy. You've been picking at your food and staring out like some emo anime boy since we sat down."

"First of all, I'm not emo. And second, I'm perfectly good! See, look!" He gave an unconvincing smile and thumbs up, and everyone looked at him with slight concern. His gaze was caught by Cardin Winchester, who was with his team, bullying a poor faunus girl. The rest of the table followed his gaze, and Yang's eyes went red at the sight. She got up to go teach him a lesson, but was pulled down by Weiss.

"Jaune," Pyrrha started, "Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school."

"Who, Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around... y'know, practical jokes."

Yang's hand slammed down on the table with aggression. "He's a bully. And an asshole! He tried to tear Ruby's goggles off last week! That doesn't sound like a joke to me!"

Jaune crossed his arms. To both teams, it was obvious Jaune was in denial; too prideful to admit he was being bullied. "Alright, name one time he's bullied me!"

They named three, each event more mean (and dangerous, even) than the last.

"Jaune you know if you ever need help, you can just ask." Pyrrha advised supportively.

Nora gave a comment about breaking his legs, and Jaune tried to reassure everyone, pointing out that Cardin was a jerk to everyone else as well. Just then, the rabbit faunus that Cardin's crew had been harassing speed-walked past, clearly trying to hide tears. "Atrocious," Pyrrha commented. "I can't stand people like him."

Blake had looked up from her book at this point, bow nearly twitching in anger as she glared. "He's not the only one."

"Poor girl. Faunus have to go through so much crap." Yang's mood went unusually sullen, especially considering she wasn't a faunus herself. She turned to check how Ruby was doing, only to find an empty space.  _Oh no..._  she groaned internally.

Yang was distracted by a sigh, and looked to see Jaune leaving the table with his uneaten food. She grimaced.  _Fuck..._ she thought.  _Now both of our resident dorks are missing._

Nobody noticed the predatory grin on Cardin's face when Jaune left the cafeteria.

* * *

Velvet ran out to the courtyard, now visibly crying. She was used to the insults and mocking laughter; being called a freak was nothing new either. She hadn't had her sensitive ears pulled in a long time, though, and she certainly hadn't missed the feeling. Most humans assumed that ear-pulling felt the same as hair-pulling, but that wasn't true. It wasn't an ache nor a stinging feeling, but a combination. The best way to describe it would be comparing her brain to a rubber string being pulled, causing tension between her eyes. Most people have felt it before.

She sat on the edge of the fountain, massaging her sore ears. She needed Coco or Fox right now. Even Yatsuhashi's company would be welcome; they had grown close over last year despite his intimidating size. The soft footsteps that her rabbit ears barely picked up on definitely weren't her teammates. The stranger sat down next to her, and Velvet looked past the dark to examine this person. She should have probably ran away, considering a stranger just walked up to her at 7 in the evening without a word, but she was a huntress-in-training; she could handle creeps. They were easier to deal with than grimm, at least.

The person was clearly a female student, seemed to have a pretty small frame too. Oh! She had heard about this girl. Ruby... Rose? Rose! A first year who got into Beacon two years early. Never spoke, never showed her eyes. It was kind of unnerving, honestly. And Velvet had tried and failed to hear about Ruby's sister, who was just about the opposite. She was loud while Ruby never spoke, she was hot while Ruby leaned more to the "cute" side, and she was not afraid to show off. Velvet's face grew hot, remembering how she had accidentally seen Yang without a shirt in the locker room once. The first year hadn't been shy when they made eye contact, just looked at her and winked. So yeah. The two were very different.

"...you okay?"

"Hu-wa-wahat?" THAT wasn't supposed to happen. Ruby Rose, a girl who never spoke to anyone, not even her teammates, had just verbally asked her a question. Velvet barely knew her, and vise-versa. She looked at the first-year in shock, trying to grasp some kind of understanding of the situation. "What... did you say?"

Ruby seemed to understand her confusion and smiled sympathetically. " I... asked if you were okay. You ran out of the lunchroom crying after Cardin pulled on your ears."

As Ruby spoke, Velvet caught sight of how her fangs folded out when she opened her mouth. She pronounced 'asked' with a little emphasis on the 's'. Pieces all clicked together and suddenly her instincts flared, telling her to flee from this girl. This snake. Her natural enemy. This harmless, cute girl that had specifically gone out of her way to comfort her. As usual, Velvet told her instincts to shut up. "Wait..." she began, "why would you show me-"

"That I can speak? What I really am?" Ruby interrupted, following with a sad sigh. "You wouldn't out me. Even I know that, and I just met you two minutes ago. There are some selfish motives too, I'll admit. I'm being stupid, but having people know is so fun. I'll get cocky. But people are already teasing me since I'm young and I don't speak much. When I get found out, I want there to be people I can go to about it."

Wow. That... was pretty sad actually. Velvet just took the abuse as it came; she couldn't exactly hide her ears anyway. Still, it was flattering that someone came to her about this. She knew she was the most well-known faunus at the academy, but still.

Ruby's dramatic speech had ended, and she had taken off her goggles. Velvet took note of the green scales placed across her upper cheekbones, right beneath her eyes. Her eyes stood out the most to Velvet, seeming to glow as they looked back. Gorgeous, shining silver slits held her gaze before turning away, and Velvet blinked out of her trance. She had seen gray eyes before, but never silver. This girl was special, somehow.

"Sorry! I came out here to comfort you and just ended up venting. Wanna go back now?" Ruby held out a hand, which Velvet accepted with a laugh. The two faunus walked back together, feeling much better after talking.

* * *

Ruby and Yang sat alone in their dorm, their combined weight somehow not damaging Yang's bunk. Blake and Weiss were both still with Team JNPR, giving the two sisters a chance to talk.

"You can't keep doing this Ruby."

"I know."

"You barely even know her."

"I know."

"You've told two people. Neither of which were our teammates, by the way."

"I know, Yang! It's just such a thrill to be free. Just like running, but I'm not alone."

Yang sighed and gathered Ruby in her arms, rocking her back and fourth. "It's your choice, but I think you should tell them. They're your teammates, aren't they? You can't stall much longer or you'll lose their trust."

Ruby pulled her hood around them. "I know, but Weiss is a Schnee and Blake is... Blake! I don't know what they'll say!

"You and Blake have been pretty close since her anxiety attack, though? And she glared at Cardin in the cafeteria."

Ruby grinned, a little flustered as she remembered how she and Blake had shared a bed for three nights in a row after that. The smile shifted into a frown, however, when she remembered her other teammate. Yang seemed to catch this based on what she said next. "Ruby, it's not my decision to make. But you're our team leader. Weiss and Blake need to be able to trust you. Please do it soon, okay?"

"Alright." Without a word, Ruby jumped off Yang's bunk and made her way to her own for the night.

"...I'll be the best team leader ever..." Ruby pulled down her sleeping mask and drifted into a peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, shipping is cool and all. But have you considered the familial love and support that Ruby and Yang share? (I used that joke on ff.net already, save me.) Their dynamic is honestly probably my favorite in the show. Don't like enabler tho, keep that away. 
> 
> Anyways, yeah! Fairly short chapter again; the longer ones weren't working. So yeah. Short, frequent, chapters are what I'm sticking with.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for all the support and feedback, glad you're all enjoying this! As always, feedback/criticism of any sort is welcome and appreciated! I'll see you all next time with a new chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Advice from a friend helps Jaune gain some confidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long guys, it's been a long week. I've decided to have a word goal of 3k words per chapter, if that's cool with everyone.
> 
> Oh! Jaune-centric chapter! yayyyyy... I don't usually like Jaune-centric stuff, as I said last chapter. But this arc needed to be finished and I'm alright with how it turned out. Still follows the canon timeline, but very loosely. 
> 
> Don't know when new chapter will come out, probably next weekend. As always, hope y'all enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Edit: I changed the summary btw. Tried to give it a bit more charm and have it less focused towards the older chapters, since my writing style has changed since then. Might redo the older chapters with better grammar.

To say Ruby was angry would be going to far. She could admit that she was annoyed, however. Professor- erm, Doctor Oobleck was lecturing the class on the Faunus War, and Jaune - her first friend at Beacon - was snoozing away at his desk. This is why humans and faunus could never get along, neither cared enough to understand each other!

In Jaune's defense though, he didn't know she was a faunus. She really needed to tell her friends at some point, huh? And it wasn't like Doctor Oobleck was the clearest teacher in the world when it came to lecturing. He zoomed around the classroom, words spilling out of his mouth faster than her running. He only ever stopped to take a sip of his coffee, which was probably the reason he was so... everywhere.

Ruby could admit that she liked the doctor, despite this. The way his glasses were fogged up reminded her of her goggles, and she felt less out of place in his classroom. He also understood that she wasn't exactly gonna answer questions in class, unlike some teachers.

She shivered at the memory. Apparently Professor Peach didn't get the memo that Ruby wouldn't be speaking anytime soon, because she called on her the third day. Half a minute of awkward silence passed. None of Team RWBY was in Peach's class with her. Fortunately, Ren was, although he wasn't exactly talkative either.

"Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your faunus heritage?"

Oh how Ruby wanted to raise her hand here. Velvet and another student in the classroom had. Weirdly enough, Doctor Oobleck's gaze seemed to linger from her to Blake before he moved on, before exclaiming, "Dreadful, simply dreadful!"

Jaune had been snoring away at all of this, even after Weiss answered a question that caused the subject to move to the Battle of Fort Castle. Ruby narrowed her eyes, not that it was visible under her goggles. Jaune was at the front of the room. Not the best position to show that he couldn't give a flying frack about faunus history. The professor would call on him eventually, and he wouldn't have the answer. Then he'd learn.

"And, who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Sleeping beauty got hit on the head from a paper football, launched by none other than Cardin.

He let out a "hey!" in surprise, and the teacher had zoomed over before he knew it.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?" Woah, woah. When Ruby wanted Jaune to be called on, this wasn't what she meant. She wasn't about the let Cardin get the satisfaction of knowing he screwed her friend over, even if Jaune should have been paying attention.

Jaune was clearly trying to stall for time, looking at his friends for help."The advantage... the faunus had over... that guy's stuff..."

Ruby doodled a moon and stars on her paper, and Pyrrha motioned at her eyes. He leaned to the left trying to get a better view. It took a minute for Jaune to get it. "...Night vision?"

"Precisely!" Jaune sighed in relief. "Good answer, Miss Nikos, Miss Rose. Mr. Arc, please pay attention next time." Jaune went visibly pale, and the classroom exploded into snickers, while some people (Cardin) laughed a lot louder. This caught Oobleck's attention easily.

"Cardin! Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject!"

Cardin was clearly bored and had his feet disrespectfully on the table, sending "douchebag" signals to everyone around him. "Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Oobleck shook his head in digust, and Blake shot him a glare that could make a leviathan crap itself.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?"

It became clear that something was about to go down, and everyone who wasn't paying attention before was now. "What, you got a problem?"

"No, I have the answer." She turned to the doctor. "It's night vision." Many faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

 _Not mole faunus,_  Ruby thought sadly.  _Poor things are almost always born blind._  Now that she thought of it, lots of faunus were more likely to be blind because of their heritage. Another thing that sucked about being a faunus.

Blake added on to Pyrrha's answer, passive-aggressively yet effectively tearing into Cardin. She looked at Cardin, ending with "Perhaps if he'd payed attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Students 'ohhh'ed and one person whistled while Ruby and Velvet shared a triumphant look. Cardin was furious, and got up from his seat to go over there and teach them a lesson. Doctor Oobleck told him to sit down, and both he and Jaune were told to see him after class.

When class ended, Pyrrha waited for Jaune to get out. Ren and Nora went on their own while Ruby went with Velvet, though everyone was focused on worrying about him.

* * *

Jaune was about to enter his dorm, but stopped when he heard his teammates talking about him. Pyrrha's tone was clearly frustrated, and he couldn't blame her after the way he'd been acting. Pyrrha had dragged him to the roof and he'd told her one of his biggest secrets. Jaune had gotten fake transcripts and faked his way into Beacon. Cardin had heard him, and was blackmailing him. He rarely saw his team anymore...

A tap on his shoulder made him jump. He turned around to find Ruby - which wasn't surprising considering only her or Blake would greet him so silently. She was in her pajamas, and had her sleeping mask covering her goggleless face. Jaune's hand twitched as he felt the sudden urge to take the mask off then and there.  _Yeah, and then I'll lose her too. Great idea._   _Wait, can she even see right now?_

"Uh, hey Ruby." he greeted. "...what are you doing here?"

She titled her head as if it was obvious, and started signing out the letters of her answer. Jaune didn't know most sign, but the alphabet didn't take him long to figure out.

Jaune spelled out the words in his head.  _B...a...t...h...r..._

"Bathroom?" She nodded before grabbing his hand and tugging at his glove, as if asking permission to take it off.

"Oh! Uh... sure?" He pulled it off, and Ruby grabbed a hold of his hand. Jaune's face grew warm as he thought of all the ways Yang would kill him. Why did Ruby have to be a weirdo sometimes.

It became clear what she was doing as she began trailing her finger along his hand and wrist, spelling out a sentence. Phew, he could live another day. ' _Where have you been?'_ she mutely asked.

"I uh..." he hesitated. Could he open up to Ruby? She had been really close to Pyrrha lately, and he hadn't been a good partner. Then again, she'd been his friend first. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin's got me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me... I'm starting to think coming to the school was a bad idea." He slid down onto the floor. "I'm a failure."

A hand suddenly _went near his face and flicked him on the nose. "Ow! Ruby, this is serious!" She gave him the best glare she could with a giant sleeping mask on and slid down next to him, "writing" on his hand again._

_'Blackmail?' Jaune blinked. "How'd you know?"_

_Ruby didn't answer him, continuing with her weird communication. Don't give a blackmailer what he wants, or he'll never let you go._

_"You're kind of a weird person to talk to about this."_

_She grinned and nodded, continuing. 'We're leaders. Our teammates come before us. Your team deserves a good leader, and I know you can be that for them.' Ruby got up and tried to enter her room, though she walked into the door the first time. Jaune got up as well, left with a lot to think about._

_His scroll rang t_ hen with a message from (surprise) Cardin. The asshole left him a message, telling him to go get a bunch of rapier wasps for something important. That was the only thing said before the message ended. Jaune almost left, but immediately stopped himself.

"Never give a blackmailer what he wants, or he'll never let you go..." Jaune came to a decision. Cardin could go screw himself. He turned around and entered his dorm, an apology spilling from his lips when his team looked at him.

* * *

Forever Fall was certainly a view. There was no trace of green to be found, so the forest was covered in a beautiful shade of red that mixed really well with the brown tree trunks. Needless to say, the students were mesmerized. Glynda walked ahead of everyone, guiding them through as she gave them instructions for their assignment.

Team CRDL was lagging behind, as Cardin was instructed to carry the jars and suddenly had no Jaune to do it for him. Instead, the leader of Team JNPR was now leading up to his title, proudly walking in front of his team. The chaperone warned the eager teenagers about the dangerous grimm that filled to forest, telling them to stick close to their team. They were to meet where they were at 4:00.

RWBY and JNPR, with their unspoken agreement to stick together, began to walk Northeast into the forest. And Jaune was with them.

"Jauney-boy!" Cardin called with a fake smile and a sickeningly condescending "friendly" voice. Jaune, along with everyone else, turned to glare at him. "Where ya going buddy? First you forget the wasps, then you leave me with the jars, and now this? I thought we were friends." Cardin said the last part almost angrily, obviously trying to be intimidating.

Jaune scowled, despite being a bit scared. He had a team now though; they came first. "Yeah, well, no offense friend, but I'd rather eat a pile of ursa shit."

He and the rest of both teams left a ticked off Cardin behind, everyone feeling shocked at Jaune's language, thoroughly satisfied, or both.

* * *

Jaune wanted to throw up when he heard the announcement.  _"Jaune Arc, please report to the headmaster's office."_

Ruby gave his hand a squeeze in attempt to reassure him, but he didn't look any better. Pyrrha helpfully offered to walk him there, and he accepted. The group watched them walk off with worry. Ruby mutely excused herself to go find Velvet.

* * *

"Mr. Arc, do you know why you're here?"

No point in playing dumb. Better to get this over with, Pyrrha was waiting outside. "Yes I do, sir."

"Tell me Mr. Arc, what made you decide to come here?" Jaune looked up. He hadn't expected to be asked questions rather than be booted from the school immediately, but Ozpin worked in mysterious ways.

"My father and grandfather were huntsman. I wanted to live up to my name. That was it at first at least. I ended up staying because my team needs a leader. And I don't wanna let Pyrrha and Ruby down."

"Interesting. Mr. Arc. Well, you don't need to worry. I knew the documents were fake all along."

If Jaune had tea, he would have spat it out. "What?!"

The headmaster let out a chuckle. "For someone as old as me, that forgery is obvious."

"Um, how old are you?" Ozpin merely smirked.

"Mr. Arc, while it's true that I look for skill in my students, it's their drive that truly gives them potential. If you're only becoming a huntsman for the money and glory, you won't push yourself to be better. In my students, I look for potential. Why do you think I was so eager to let Miss Rose in early?"

"Oh, so those rumors about you-"

"I can promise you I'm not a pedophile, young man." Jaune looked away sheepishly, but couldn't stop a small grin from forming on his face. "Now, you should get back to your team. Lunch is almost over, and you don't want to be late."

"Y-yeah. Thank you so much, sir!"

"Think nothing of it."

Jaune left, immense relief filling him as he went to tell Pyrrha the good news. She smirked, anticipating Cardin's face when he saw that Jaune would be unpunished.

* * *

This was beginning to get out of hand. Once Cardin had found out about Jaune getting off scot free, he had challenged him to a "duel." A duel in Beacon was supposed to be a formal way to settle a problem with someone if you didn't want to talk it out. It would be played normal tournament style, so whoever's aura went red first lost. Pyrrha wasn't too worried about Jaune, he had requested she train him when he apologized a few days ago before Forever Falls. Jaune had improved quite a bit since then, so he should be able to win. Of course, Cardin didn't play fair.

Now RWBY, as well as the remainder of JNPR and CRDL were all standing in the arena watching as Miss Goodwitch went over the rules. The tension between the three teams, or more specifically CRDL and the other teams, was so thick it almost had it's own aura. Heck, Yang wasn't even making awful jokes or flirting with Blake.

"Are both participants ready?"

An anticipating nod and an affirmative grunt. "Okay, then. Now... begin!"

Cardin rushed forward immediately, likely too engaged in his anger to strategize first. His movement was sloppy and uncoordinated, and his attacks could be easily predicted and countered. And that's exactly what Jaune did, moving out of the way and knocking Cardin with his shield. It took off a small chunk of Cardin's aura. Not a lot, but it was a good start.

He faced Jaune again, and they charged at one another. Jaune tripped over himself and stumbled, giving Cardin the opportunity to kick him onto the ground. Cardin brought his mace down on Jaune, but missed as Jaune moved out of the way. Pyrrha watched closely from the sidelines, examining how Cardin fought.  _He's slow,_ _and relies on strength more than strategy or agility. But when he gets a hit in, it hurts,_ she observed.  _Good thing Jaune has a lot of aura._

They were about even in terms of aura at this point, and had both stopped to catch their breath as they glared at each other from opposites sides of the arena. Jaune swore could feel his heart beating in his ears; why didn't he just accept Pyrrha's training and suck it up?

An idea formed in his head, and he taunted Cardin with a cocky grin. It worked, and Cardin had rushed forward immediately, swinging his mace repeatedly. He missed or was blocked each time and began to grow more tired and less precise (not that he was very precise before). Pyrrha saw what Jaune was doing and smiled to herself, feeling proud of her partner. He really could be a great hunter one day if he kept working. Obviously Jaune couldn't dodge every hit, and his aura took the blunt of it, but Cardin was wearing himself out. If he could get a good enough hit now...

Jaune went on the offensive, repeatedly swinging his sword at his opponent. His strikes weren't very precise, but they were doing the job. Cardin's aura was wearing down. He got fed up quickly, however. In between Jaune's strikes, he quickly knocked him back with the handle of his mace, causing a slightly worn out Jaune to stumble. Cardin quickly brought his mace up, ready to strike. It was clear to everyone what was about to happen. Miraculously however, the attack was blocked with the shield portion of Crocea Mors. Jaune used his sword to knock Cardin back, and his aura dipped into the red. The match was over, and everyone was silent.

"That marks the end of the duel. Congratulations, Mr. Arc." Miss Goodwitch stated cooley. She was one of the few who noticed the faint glow around Jaune's shield when he raised it, along with Ruby and Weiss. Not that she cared enough to do anything about it of course; it was 10 PM at night. All these students and her should be sleeping right now.

Ruby tugged on Pyrrha's arm and pointed to her hand questioningly. "Oh!" Pyrrha answered. "Well, you have your glyphs... my semblance is polarity."

Ruby just looked more confused, so Weiss chipped in. "It means she can control magnetism, dunce."

The faunus nodded with newfound understanding.

Jaune walked over and put out a hand to help Cardin up, which was accepted with both annoyance and newfound respect. "Holy crap, Jaune."

"Don't ever mess with my friends again. Got it?"

He walked away, leaving Cardin feeling a lot smaller than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby doesn't have her scroll btw, she was in her pjs. And she didn't wear the sleeping mask the whole time, just when she saw Jaune. 
> 
> Oh, forgot to mention this but... Jaune's time to shine is done! And we all know what episode comes next ;)  
> I want to have the whole faunus reveal arc in one chapter, so it might take a bit longer than usual. So yeah, I know you're all looking forward to that! Let's see how much ladybug I can fit in there without it being actually romantic :D
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! As always, feedback/criticism of any kind is always welcome, and I'll see you all next time!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um... yikes. That was a time gap, yep. I don't really have an excuse, I've just been in a slump recently. I was being an idiot with my friend and stabbed myself in the leg, which part of what caused it. That's still my own fault though.
> 
> I'm sorry about that, I'll try and keep that from happening in the future. Anyways, yeah! I couldn't just leave this story on  
> 1\. A Jaune-Centric chapter  
> 2\. Right before the Blake reveal
> 
> by principal. This chapter was a bit of a challenge to write, and it took a couple attempts before I was even remotely satisfied. I do think the writing was a lot less shitty in the beginning, not even gonna lie. I wrote most of this on late nights so I don't know how it's gonna be, but I hope it's good enough. 
> 
> Anyways, this chapter might get a little irky at parts so.
> 
> Trigger Warning: Suicidal thoughts and Attempted Rape.
> 
> Yeah. Hope you all enjoy anyways!

Today was supposed to be a fun day with the team.

But Ruby wasn't having fun. Ruby was alone in the shadier part of Vale, running away from her troubles at 11 PM on a rainy night. Her feet splashed in the puddles, causing freezing water to drench her up to the knees. That wasn't good; she could already feel herself get drowsier as the chills seeped into her bones. How did it even come to this? It started off so smoothly this morning...

Team RWBY had been woken up by an uncharacteristically excited Weiss, who reminded the team of their plan to go to explore the Vytal Festival. She clearly just wanted to stalk their opponents to get an advantage in the Tournament, but nobody judged her. It was gonna be a great time; even Blake admitted to being excited.

Then they came across the dust robbery. Ruby wasn't sure she'd seen Blake argue so passionately about anything before that. After that monkey faunus showed up, it got even worse. They met a cute girl - who knew sign language - which was fun, but Weiss and Blake started arguing again. Then Blake had accidentally revealed that she-

...

Ruby let out a shaky sigh, pulling her hood up to keep herself from getting even more drenched. The memories weren't as painful now, with how long ago they were. But... she'd be lying if she said she was okay. Instinctively, brought her hand up to her neck, bare fingers trailed over completely white skin. It hurt. Not physically, but it brought Ruby back to the time it happened. Was there even a place for her? A half-breed? A faunus raised by regular people? Sometimes it seemed like she wasn't accepted by humans or faunus. Realistically, she knew she shouldn't be surprised at this point. She was not only a faunus, but openly asexual. Or... somewhat openly. She'd tell anyone if they asked, but she didn't exactly put it out in the open. Still, not a good combination. She had foolishly hoped Weiss would accept both parts of her. Now Ruby wasn't sure she'd ever get the courage to tell her team the truth. Although, she was even more scared of Blake, the admitted White-Fang member. Ruby felt a shiver go through her, and her hand moved up to the uncovered scales on her face.

Her goggles were off now, hanging limply around her neck. It was almost as if they felt miserable being just there. As miserable as Ruby did. She slumped down against the wall of a long past-closed storefront. Tears began to fall down her face, and for a minute Ruby wondered if it was just rain. The tears only made her hate herself more; a constant reminder that she wasn't a beast or a person. Snakes couldn't cry. They couldn't even blink. Ruby had the eyes of a serpent, so why was she crying? Because she's a freak, and nothing else. Ruby looked up to the moon that held the same shade of silver as her slitted eyes. She closed them, letting the rain mix with her tears, washing the pain off her reddened face.

Her eyes opened, trailing to her left hip. She kept a secret weapon there.  _Viper's tooth._  The dagger was small, and wouldn't prove very effective in a fight. That was the point, however. It wasn't meant to spill blood. It was a backup, in case she was ever disarmed in a fight. It was a strategy many huntsman used. In many cases, the tooth was her last resort. She wouldn't stoop to using her actual teeth as a weapon. Ruby didn't think she could ever use her fangs against a real human being. That wasn't her. All that would do is serve as more proof that faunus are nothing more than animals. And for what? To taste the blood of another living creature sloshing between her teeth and tongue? And grimm couldn't be poisoned anyway, considering their lack of internal organs. So that was out of the question as well.

She played with the knife, switching it between gloved hands with ease. It was an attractive weapon; simple yet elegant. The blade was made from ivory, a material that was uncommon, but not impossible to find. The handle was wooden, carved beautifully from the redwood trees that grew all over her home. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. She drew the blade over her finger and watched the blood trickle out. The small red line disappeared as her aura healed the cut.

Ruby could easily kill herself right there. She could take the dagger and drive it through her heart. She could slit her already scarred throat and bleed out faster than her aura could heal her. Her blood would wash away with the rain, and Nobody would even care. They would at first, sure. They'd see a corpse of a young teenage girl on the street, and they'd panic. But they'd stop caring once they saw what she was. "Oh! It's just a faunus! Well that's a relief, it's not as if they're people anyways!"

The knife hit the concrete with a pang, and Ruby's heart thumped in her ears. Yang. Yang would care. If she drove the blade of the knife into herself right then Yang would care. And...

She thought back to the muffled sobs that came from Yang's room. The nights where she'd find her beloved sister drunk and collapsed, tear streaks on her face. The days where Yang would do nothing but search for her mother so they could be a family again.

Yang, the person that raised Ruby when their mother died and their father couldn't, her guardian angel, and her biggest supporter. She deserved better than this.

Ruby brought her trembling hands together, rubbing one against the other repeatedly to form some kind of heat energy. The cold began to seep into her already, and she felt her eyelids begin to droop...

...

_SLAM._

Ruby was on the ground, knife against her neck and a rough hand against her fragile throat. She wanted to scream, but her voice failed her.

"Make one sound, and I'll slit your fucking throat. Understand me, bitch?" Ruby could barely breathe, and her hood had slipped off her head in her struggle. Her forest green scales shone in the moonlight. The deep voice above her let out a raspy chuckle. "A faunus, huh? Maybe once I'm done with you, I can get something else for my trouble, eh? I know a couple traders in Atlas who could get some use out of a pretty little thing like you."

 _Shit._ Ruby felt a hiss bubble in her throat. She wasn't too worried about this piece of shit; she was a pretty capable fighter after all. She just didn't wanna hurt this man- well actually, yes she did. She didn't want to risk killing him, however, no matter how awful he was. Her mind was moving hundreds of miles an hour, trying to figure out how to get herself out of this mess.

She didn't need to, however. In an instant, the creep was knocked off her with the force of a freight train. Her head blurred as she tried to regain her composure. Her savior looked familiar somehow...

Memories of earlier came back to her. The blonde faunus looked back to her after the man had scampered off. He had a soft look in his blue eyes; not one you'd expect from someone who didn't even button up his shirt. He dropped to his knees, probably trying to appear less intimidating.

"Hey, you alright?"

Her mouth croaked, voice once again failing her. She drew a finger over her upper throat, trying to communicate her situation. She took note of how the guy's eyes noticeably widened with panic, then trailed down to her neck. He caught sight of the ruined skin, and the fur on his tail suddenly bristled.

"Wait.. did they..." he motioned to his throat, "y'know..."

She tilted her head at him and shrugged.

His tail fur smoothed out a bit, but he was still tense. "Like, did they silence you?"

 _What?_ she thought with the meaning hit her, and she thought back to all the history classes she had taken that educated people on faunus slavery. The owners of faunus use to cut the vocal chords or tongues of their slaves, effectively muting, or "silencing" them.

She waved her hands frantically at the boy, negatively answering the unspoken question. His shoulders slumped, relaxing at this. "Okay, okay, sorry for assuming," he choked, still trying to get a grasp on the whole situation. She smiled patiently at him. It would be pretty awful of her to be difficult to the guy who had saved her so much trouble.

He returned the smile with one of his own, and followed as she started off towards Beacon. She noticed with amusement that he kept glancing over, clearly trying to catch her looking at his revealed abs. Why he was just about shirtless in the rain, she'd never understand.

They walked for a few minutes before Ruby finally found her voice. "What's your name?"

He gawked at her for a moment, before his eyes narrowed. "I thought you couldn't speak?"

"I can, just not easily. I'm use to being mostly silent." She replied nervously.

He held eye contact for a few seconds before his gaze softened and his tail stopped flicking. "Guess I worried about nothing then. I'm Sun Wukong. I'm a red howler monkey faunus."

She stored that information in her brain for later. "Ruby. Ruby Rose. White-lipped pit viper."

The boy, Sun, nodded. "Alright, cool. By the way..."

He pulled a familiar knife from his belt, holding out in front of her. "What were you doing earlier? When you were looking at this?"

"Why were you watching me?"

"You're a 15 year-old girl running through downtown Vale in the middle of downtown vale at 11 PM  _in the rain._  Don't even try to make me look like a bad guy."

Ruby let out an amused hiss. "Well, there was a situation within my team at Beacon." She looked at Sun, waiting for him to let out some surprised comment about how she was too young to go to Beacon. When none came, she continued. "I panicked and I ran out here because I just... didn't know what to do."

A muscular arm wrapped around her protectively. Her new friend gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry about it. I won't push. Anyways..." his grin turned playful, "...does it have anything to do with your hot cat faunus friend?"

"There it is." Ruby laughed, but then stopped as a thought came to her. "How'd you know she was a cat faunus?"

He gave her a look and pointed to the top of his head. Blake's bow came to mind, and she had to remember that not all faunus were as dense as her. So THAT was why Blake refused to take her bow off in front of the team. Puzzle pieces began to fit together. "Oh, right."

They continued their playful conversation for a while, specifically when they crossed the unofficial border that led to the nicer side of the kingdom. It had stopped raining now, and Ruby could see the very top of the sun (no pun intended) show itself in the horizon.

It was around then that she caught sight of another moving form besides the two, and felt her world come crashing down around her when it made eye contact.

Two faunus stared at each other, and time seemed to stop. Then all at once, Ruby felt her head spin, and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: don't go outside alone at midnight, especially unarmed. No matter how skilled you are in fighting, a knife to the neck is not a situation you wanna be in.
> 
> Anyways, there's the chapter. I wanted to make it longer but I didn't wanna end up delaying it even more so I'm just going with this. I'll try and put a new chapter out this week!
> 
> STRAWBANA BROTP! I love these goofballs! Sun's the best boi in the whole show, in my opinion. Not enough love for him. Like really. If you don't think he's gonna play a big-ass part in this AU you are fortunately mistaken.
> 
> I really hope I didn't seem insensitive to anyone with suicidal thoughts or tendencies; I'm not sure if I wrote it good enough. I also wanna have Ruby's asexuality play a part in her character, instead of just shoving my headcanon in and leaving it at that. I don't wanna be THAT writer. 
> 
> Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. As usual, feedback and questions are always welcomed! See you all soon!


End file.
